The Enchanting Forester
by LostGirlsofStarsHollow
Summary: Louise finds out that Dean and Rory have broken-up and hopes she can have a shot at the hottest hunk she's ever seen show up at a Chilton dance.
1. Chapter 1

**The Enchanting Forester  
****CHAPTER ONE**

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Shane  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Louise, Paris, Madeline, Rory, Dean, Mrs. Kim, Jess and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

Louise Grant will never forget the first time she set her eyes on Dean Forester. He was Rory Gilmore's date at a Chilton dance. When she saw him her mouth dropped open. Everyone has a mental image of the perfect mate. The one she just saw exceeded her expectations. He was tall, with an athletic build. Floppy hair that worked on him and piercing blue green eyes. Louise was smitten. Now where in the world did the new girl, Rory Gilmore, find him?

Louise knew that Rory Gilmore was a very talented girl, and she had brutal study habits that landed her at the top of the class to the displeasure of Paris Gellar. Rory was on the fringe of their little circle. Which consisted of her, Paris and Madeline Lynn. Louise liked Rory. Louise also noticed that Rory used her little girl lost look to great advantage. Everyone treated her like a princess, and extolled how brilliant she was. Louise liked boys and she liked her social life. Her grades were above average. To even get into Chilton you had to be quite sharp. Money helped, but admittance to Chilton could not be bought. So Louise knew that she was no slouch and could pull a B plus out of a D when she had to.

For two years Dean was Rory's boyfriend. Louise accepted it and thought Rory was a lucky girl, she had Dean, and Louise could not see any reason for her to break up with him. From what she could see, Dean was thoughtful, polite, and also quite charming when he chose to be.

Early into their senior year Paris pulled her and Madeline aside.

"Guess what?"

"I don't know, Paris, is the sky blue or something? Come on."

"Louise, you're no fun, but anyway I was just talking to Rory and found out Dean broke up with her."

"You're kidding Paris, what happened?"

"I am not sure, Louise."

"Paris, I don't believe the little princess did something wrong, and Dean broke up with her. Are you sure that she did not break up with Dean?"

Louise went through the day wondering what happened. If Dean was available she wanted her chance at him. Rory did not seem very emotional about the break up. Louise knew that if a boy friend of two years broke up with her she would be a mess. Rory was going around like nothing happened to her. Louise knew she needed to talk to Rory. Her chance came during Gym. "Rory can I speak to you for a minute?"

"Sure, Louise, what's up?"

Louise hesitated. She was about to ask a pretty direct personal question. "Did you and Dean break up?"

"Yes we did. It was time for me to move on."

"What do you mean move on? He broke up with you."

Rory smiled, "Yes, but it was for the best. I needed to grow as a person, and try different things."

Louise was thinking to herself. There is something I am missing. She is way too blasé about this. "Well Rory I am sorry to hear it. Do you think there is a chance the two of you will get back together?"

"No," she said confidently, "I am sure Dean is moving on also."

"Well I guess you would know best Rory, but I am still sorry to hear about it."

"Everything's fine, Louise, come on we'll be late."

* * *

**STARS HOLLOW**

Louise gave Madeline a lame excuse why they could not hang out on Saturday. She had it figured out. She was going to go to Stars Hollow and see if she could run into Dean. She had wanted him for over two years. It could be the reason she had never formed a real close relationship with any boy. Her friends just put it down to her being a big flirt, which she was. Even Madeline had a couple of semi serious relationships, Paris was hopeless She could be beautiful at times, but when Paris opened her mouth every boy fled. Stars Hollow was noted for its antique shops, Louise decided to go antique shopping on Saturday. She was almost eighteen and her parents did not keep a close watch on her. Not that they needed to. After breakfast Louise told her parents she was going shopping and would be back around five p.m. and if not she would call.

Her father looked up from the newspaper he was reading and vaguely waved his hand. "Have a good time honey."

Louise walked out to her red Mustang convertible. If the day warmed up like the weather guessers promised, she could take the top down. Louise lived slightly west of Hartford and figured it would take her about forty minutes to make the drive to Stars Hollow. Louise had been to Stars Hollow before, but she had not really paid any attention to it. When she arrived, Louise noticed that the shops were mostly centered around the large town common. Louise parked her car and decided to walk around. She knew that Dean worked in some sort of market, but she did not want to run into Dean right away. Plus, she was genuinely curious about the town.

Louise wandered about window shopping. She thought to herself that Stars Hollow was a pretty neat town. Louise wandered into one store where she was met by an oriental lady who told her that Lane was not home. Louise looked at her, "Lane? No I came here to look around for some antiques."

"Aren't you young to be buying antiques? You break you buy." The woman turned on her heel, and walked away. _Lane? That is __**Rory's**__ best friend_, Louise remembered and then realized she had just stumbled into her mother's shop. Louise had met Lane a couple of times, but really did not pay attention to her.

Louise found a set of brass candle holders that were three hundred dollars. A good gift for her parents. Louise hunted down Mrs. Kim and asked her to wrap them. Mrs. Kim looked at her suspiciously and bluntly remarked, "You cannot afford. Three hundred dollars."

Louise smiled and put her American express platinum card on the counter, "Yes I can."

Mrs. Kim looked at the card, "Where did you get this?"

"It is mine."

"Young girl should not have credit card like this. Prove it is yours."

Louise took out her driver's license and presented it to Ms Kim.

"That does not prove anything, this could be your mothers card and her name is Louise."

"Actually, ma'am, her name is Louise also, but that is my card." Louise was tempted to walk out, but Mrs. Kim had pissed her off. Louise then wrote down her mother's cell number, "Go ahead and call."

Mrs. Kim picked up her phone and dialed the number, "Hello, Mrs. Grant, this is Mrs. Kim. Your daughter says she had her own credit card and is trying to buy a very expensive set of candle holders."

"How much are they? Three hundred dollars. Yes, okay, thank you"

Mrs. Kim looked at Louise with narrowed eyes. "You stay away from Lane. You are spoiled. Your mother said as long as you don't go over one thousand dollars, you can get what you want."

Louise smiled at Mrs Kim with what people told her was her enigmatic smile. The one where you could not tell if she was a devil or an angel. "Please wrap it."

Louise left the antique shop and found her car to drop the packages off. It was a shame Louise thought. Her parents were involved in everything, but her. They treated her with sort of a benevolent neglect. As long as she had passing grades and the cops did not bring her home, Louise was home free. Her father was a CEO of one of the largest insurance companies in the world. She heard once what he made a year and the figure was staggering. As much as they lived the good life. Her parents lived well within the means of her father's salary.

She was getting hungry. From Rory she had heard that Luke's diner was the place to go. After walking for awhile she found it. Now her dilemma was; does she go in and risk being seen by Rory or go find another eatery? She decided to risk it and entered and sat at a table in the corner. A dark haired boy about her age approached the table. From the minute he opened his mouth she could tell he was surly.

"You couldn't have sat closer could you?"

"I could have, but I like this table. I'll take a tuna salad sandwich and a glass of ice tea."

"You know the service is better at the counter."

"Probably, but I want to look out the window."

"Jess, stop lollygagging, your behind on your orders," Luke barked out.

Louise looked over at the counter and saw a man who had to be the famous Luke Danes. Rory spoke about him all the time.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses, I'll be there in a minute."

"Now, Jess, not tomorrow."

About a half hour later, Jess came by her table and literally threw the sandwich on the table, and placed her ice tea down so hard it spilled over the sandwich. He just turned and walked away. _What a jerk,_ Louise thought. She finished and looked at the bill. Louise walked up to the register. Luke was behind it. "Good sandwich, but the service sucked, I doubt I will ever come here again."

Luke shook his head knowingly. "Okay, $6.95."

Louise put down a five and two singles and stood there with her hand out. Luke looked up, "A nickel?

"Yes, please, I am not leaving that jerk anything."

Luke suppressed a snicker as he placed the nickel in her hand, and Louise walked out. Jess shot her a dirty look as she left.

* * *

**A DATE FOR THE WRONG REASONS**

Louise came upon Doose's market. This is where Dean worked if she remembered correctly. Did she dare go in? Why not? Louise figured she could grab a couple of bottle of cold waters for her ride home. That would be a good story if Dean was working and was inquisitive.

Louise realized that Dean's opinion of her would be largely based upon what Rory had told him. Louise walked in and slowly looked around. No Dean. She walked toward the rear of the store where the coolers were located. Suddenly Dean appeared from a door in the rear carrying a stack of cookie boxes. Louise doubled around the aisle and came in from the front. She walked up to Dean who was blocking the aisle while stacking shelves. "Excuse me, may I pass?"

Dean looked down at her. "Sure, go ahead," as he stepped out of the way.

He stood up, and Louise caught her breath. _God he is gorgeous. Even with an apron, torn jeans, and a ratty tee shirt. Still gorgeous! _He literally took her breath away

"Thank you," and she walked past Dean who did not show any sign of recognition. She felt a tap on her shoulder. Louise turned and Dean was standing there. "Don't you go to school with Rory Gilmore?"

"Yes I do."

Dean looked at her for a moment She was about the same height as Rory, with blonde hair, and she did the pair of faded jeans she was wearing justice. Unlike Rory, Dean could tell she was very athletic. She moved like a cat.

"What brings you to Stars Hollow?"

Louise hoped her acting skills were good. "Oh, you're Dean, Rory's boyfriend. How are you?"

"Yes or should I say _ex_-boyfriend."

Louise looked at him with her most innocent expression. "I am so sorry. What happened?"

"I don't want to get into it now. So what are you doing here?"

"I was going to buy some bottled waters."

"You came to Stars Hollow to buy water?"

Louise laughed, "No silly, I was shopping for antiques; so I could give my parents a gift for their anniversary."

Dean looked around to see if Taylor was looking for him or was checking him out. "What did you get them?

"Candlestick holders."

"Oh, I guess that sounds like a good gift."

"Hey, Dean, I have to do some more shopping," she lied. "What time do you get off?"

"Why? You going to tell Rory things about me?"

"We don't have that kind of relationship. I figured you could buy me a soda or something."

Dean stood quietly thinking for a moment and said, "Okay, meet me here at four o'clock."

"See you at four, Dean," she turned and walked away. So far so good. Now she had about three hours to kill. Louise walked around town. She went as far as the Independence Inn, but decided she better not go in. Finally, she bought a magazine and took a seat on a bench in the town square.

At five to four she rose and walked over to Doose's and waited for Dean to come out. Dean came out and looked at her, "You actually showed up. I did not expect that."

"Well I wanted my soda," she said with a laugh.

"Come on then, let's go." Dean started walking and she hurried to keep up with his long stride. They walked past Luke's, which surprised her.

A very attractive blonde yelled out Dean's name and came running across the street. She nodded at Louise and took Dean by the arm out of hearing range. They spoke for a few minutes and then the girl kissed Dean on the cheek and walked away.

"New girlfriend, Dean? Am I screwing you up by walking with you?"

"Actually, Louise, she is a new friend. Her name is Shane."

Louise did not think a guy like Dean would go dateless for long. She had to find out more about Shane and see what kind of threat she was to her dating Dean. She really liked Dean and had for years. Louise loved his manners, and his demeanor. She never thought that she would ever have a chance with him. Louise realized that she had one shot at him and this was it.

They stopped at an establishment called Weston's. Dean took her hand, which made her heart race, and led them to a table by the window. "Louise, I recommend the hot apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream."

"I trust your judgment, you have been here before."

Dean ordered two apple pies and two cokes. "So, Louise, why did you want to have a soda with me?"

Louise thought carefully. What she said now would be crucial to any future she had with Dean. She looked right into his eyes and answered, "Because I like you."

Dean looked back into her eyes. Dark brown, her face framed by blonde hair. There was something about her smile that he did not know if she was an angel or a devil. Either way, her smile was sexy as hell.

"You hardly know me Louise, so how do you know you like me?"

"I have been around you long enough to know what I like."

Dean looked out the window, and stared. Louise looked out to see what had captured his attention. Walking across the street was Rory and that jerk from the diner, and they were holding hands. He bent down and kissed Rory on the lips. Louise shifted her gaze from the couple to Dean. She saw hurt, and disappointment cross his face.

"I'm sorry, Dean."

He turned to her. Are you really? This makes it easy for you. What are you here for, to pickup Rory's leftovers?"

Louise flinched when he said that. She stood up. "I am going to admit I came here to find you. The reason why, is that I truly like you, for you. When I said I felt sorry, I meant it. How could I really like you and not feel for you? I am sorry I bothered you."

Dean grabbed her hand before she could walk away. "Please sit, Louise. I had no right jumping on you like that. I am sorry. You still want to go out with me even thought my heart may be somewhere else?"

"Dean," she said softly, let's go out as friends. Be my friend."

"You really want that Louise? You're a pretty girl, why don't you get a guy who is not hung up?"

"Yes I do, Dean, even if nothing ever comes out of us. I still will have made a great friend."

"Louise, do you want to attend a dance at my school next Saturday?"

"Yes I would love to. How formal will it be?"

"Guys in jacket and tie. Give me your address and I will pick you up."

Louise thought for a minute. She was going to drive, but with him picking her up they had more chances to talk. She wrote down her address and also wrote down her phone number.

"Here's my phone number, too. You forgot to ask for it, Dean."

Dean laughed, "Well, it has been a long time since I have made arrangements with a girl to go out on a date."

They finished their pies and cokes. Dean noticed that Louise was not a delicate eater. She ate that pie with relish.

"I have to go Dean."

"I'll walk you to your car."

Louise knew he would do that. It was the kind of guy he was.

They walked to the car, chatting about Dean's school. She was sure he knew all about Chilton, but she knew nothing about his school. In fact she had never attended a public school in her life. They reached the car, "Dean, call me and I will see you about six on Saturday night?"

"I'll be there."

Louise kissed him on the cheek. Take care, Dean.

Louise started her car up and began her journey home. She felt like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Dean looked at the rapidly distancing car. He liked her. There was something about her. He did not know what, but something.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Enchanting Forester  
****CHAPTER TWO**

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Louise  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Louise, Paris, Madeline, Rory, Dean, Kyle, Jess, Dave and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

When Louise got home from Stars Hollow, she called Madeline to go with her on a shopping trip on Sunday. The plan was go to Saks 5th Avenue, about an hour and a half away in Stamford. Louise and Madeline were both members of the Fifth Avenue Club, a personal shopping service provided by Saks.

After Louise hung up with Madeline, she called the store and requested her and Madeline's favorite personal shopper, Gaston Marceau. Their appointment was set for ten o'clock and Louise decided since they were going to end up with so many packages to carry, it would be best for her family's chauffeur, Thurston, to drive them to Saks and then to brunch in her father's Rolls Royce limo.

**THE NEXT DAY…**

The next morning was like any other morning at the Grant household. When Louise came downstairs, her father had his nose buried deep in the Sunday New _York Times_ and Louise's mother was chatting away on the phone. Neither of them seemed terribly interested in her shopping trip. Louise wished they would go to church on Sundays once in a while like normal parents, but then again, who was she was talk? The last time she'd darkened a church door step was when she ten years old, when her cousin Monica was christened at an Episcopalian church in Greenwich.

The maid asked Louise what she'd like for breakfast. Knowing she'd be eating brunch later on in the day, she told her she only wanted a cup of black coffee and a small glass of fresh orange juice.

She downed her beverages in a hurry and told Thurston they needed to be on their way.

Thurston acknowledged his orders and loaded up the bar in limo with an assortment of chilled sodas, organic juices and bottled spring waters and then told Louise he was ready to take her to Madeline's.

Fifteen minutes later, the limousine pulled up to the curb of Madeline's stone mansion in West Hartford, which was only minutes from Richard and Emily Gilmore's home.

Rather than make the long trek through the gated courtyard to the front door, Louise called Madeline on her cell phone to signal she had arrived. About five minutes later, Madeline came bounding out to the curb wearing her trademark, cutesy smile. Madeline loved the movie star life she led; being chauffeured in a Rolls Royce to Stamford certainly didn't suck. She'd hoped Thurston had included imported Italian Limonata sodas in the bar.

Thurston obligingly ran to the passenger side and held the door open for Madeline as she climbed into the limo, eager to grab the latest news about Dean from Louise. Usually, they asked Paris to come along on their shopping trips, but Paris tended to get even grouchier than normal when it came to them discussing boy catching schemes, and even though Paris denied Rory was her friend, they both knew better and didn't want her hearing anything that could get passed back to Rory and cloud Louise's plans to get Dean to ask her to be his girlfriend.

"Hey, Louise, did Thurston put any Limonata sodas in the bar?" Madeline asked anxiously.

Louise reached into the bar and pulled one out for Madeline, already knowing she'd be asking for one and handed it to her. "Of course, Thurston put some Limonata sodas in the bar for you. He knows he'd have to turn around and drive back to my house if he forgot," Louise said loudly so Thurston could hear her teasing him.

Thurston gave a soft chuckle and drove on. He'd been chauffeuring Louise around since she was four years old and it had been a pleasure to see her growing up. She'd had her quick, dry wit for as long as he could remember. Due to the lack of real attention she'd gotten from her parents, she'd been forced to grow up quickly and was mature beyond her years. Even so, she'd always maintained a streak of polite consideration and even though it was within her power, she had never belittled or abused him. In fact, he always looked forward to driving her around. It was much more pleasurable than chauffeuring her father around for the usually dry business affairs he required Thurston to accompany him to.

**SAKS FIFTH AVENUE…**

When Louise and Madeline arrived at Saks, the doorman directed them to the Personal Shopper's lounge, where they were greeted by Gaston. He ordered his assistant to fetch the girls some lattés, strawberries and croissants and he inquired about the wardrobe pieces they were interested in. The assistant arrived with their refreshments and he also handed them iPads so they could watch TV while they waited for him to reappear with the clothing he selected to fit their individual tastes.

A half hour later, Gaston reappeared with his assistant, who was pushing around portable clothing racks. He first displayed Louise's clothes. She had already told him that she needed an outfit to wear to the school dance. After rifling through about a dozen outfits, her eyes settled on a sleeveless, soft pink silk dress by Oscar De La Renta for $2,990.00. Gaston accessorized the outfit for her with a pair of pale pink patent leather Prada pumps for $650.00 and a pair of Alexis Bittar, rose-dust, teardrop earrings for $275.00.

Next, Gaston focused his attention on Madeline's selections, which were mainly outfits for her family trip to Anguilla over the upcoming Spring Break. After selecting a different designer bathing suit for each day of her trip and an additional $15,000 worth of travel clothes, she, too, was satisfied her mission was accomplished. Gaston rang up the purchases on their accounts and commanded his assistant to bring their packages out to the limo.

**A BRUNCH WITH A VIEW…**

Louise directed Thurston to stop off at a place called Sage American Grill and Oyster Bar when they were about half-way home. The Sage American Grill and Oyster Bar was her favorite restaurant to eat at whenever she went on a shopping trip to Saks. It was located at a gorgeous waterfront venue in New Haven.

Louise ordered the Almond Crusted French Toast, a dish made with thick cut cinnamon & raisin bread dipped in an egg cream, Grand Marnier batter and topped with almonds and baked and served with real maple syrup. Madeline got the Eggs Oscar, two poached eggs served in puff pastry cups with artichoke hearts and crab meat, topped with béarnaise sauce.

While they waited for their brunch order, their server brought them coffee, virgin mimosas, a platter of fresh fruit and a basket of mini breakfast muffins.

Louise reached into the basket of muffins and selected a peach sour cream muffin and took a sip of her coffee before she returned to the subject of Dean and the dance.

"So, Madeline, do you think Dean will think I look hot in my new dress?" Louise asked anxiously.

"Girlfriend, Dean would think you looked hot even if you showed up at that dance wearing clothes from a clearance sale at that Walmart store. What a silly question!"

"I keep thinking I might not be his type somehow. I don't have that waify, clueless look that Miss Gilmore seems to have a patent on."

"Oh, well, if he hasn't figured that's b.s. by now, then he's the one who's got the patent on the cluelessness."

"Mmm…good point, Maddie. I think you're right, it's silly for me to feel threatened by Rory. She's all wrapped in some new guy. He's kind of cute, but definitely four or five steps down the ladder from Dean, but at least it gives me a chance to get a crack at him now."

"Ooooh….you're so lucky to get Dean, Louise. He's **gorgeous**, I can't wait to hear the juicy details about your date on Saturday," Madeline enthused.

"I don't even know if I _have_ Dean yet, but I promise to tell you everything about what goes on Saturday. I just hope he isn't too intimidated when he comes to pick me up at the manse."

"Oh yeah, I forgot…he's poor isn't he?" Madeline giggled.

"Hey, don't knock the poor guys. I've heard they make better lovers," Louise said observingly.

"Mmm…must explain the population explosion in third world countries," Madeline mused naively.

"I don't know, but I can finally find out if it's an accurate theory on Saturday."

"Ooh la-la, Louise," Madeline purred with amusement.

**KEEPING UP APPEARANCES…**

Louise started getting ready for the Stars Hollow High Dance early on Saturday.

She had booked an eight o'clock appointment at the Anthony Nicole Salon and Spa in West Hartford. She was getting the full treatment today. Her appointments ran until 3:30 in the afternoon. She scheduled a caviar facial, a massage, and an aromatherapy body treatment in the spa section of the facilities and after those services were completed, she visited the salon to have her hair cut and styled, then had a manicure and pedicure, a facial waxing, and then her last appointment was with a consultant to have her makeup done for the upcoming evening.

Like her shopping trips to Saks, she usually booked an appointment for Madeline to come along with her on her trips to Anthony's, but she'd been too nervous thinking about her date to bring her along today. She was sorry, though, that she hadn't been up to inviting Madeline to come along. They both loved coming to Anthony's and being treated like VIPs. When they arrived, they were always greeted with plush robes and slippers to wear and cups of gourmet teas to sip and a platter of assorted petit fours to munch on. After they finished up with their spa treatments, the salon leader, Avalon, would come escort them into a solarium that overlooked a tranquil pond and garden. They would each relax in a reclining chair and the pampering would continue while they listened to soft classical music and were served a gourmet lunch before they resumed the rest of their beauty treatments.

Since Madeline hadn't tagged along with Louise today, she'd brought a copy of her current favorite romance novel to read in the solarium, hoping she'd pick up some tips for her date with Dean. Louise snickered to herself while she perused the pages of _Welcome to Temptation_, picturing Paris' disdain if she ever discovered her reading trashy romance novels instead of focusing on a book with academic substance that might actually contribute to raising her future SAT scores. She knew Paris never read anything for fun, actually, when she thought about it, Paris never did _anything _for fun.

**EARTH TO GOOGLE…**

Before Dean left Stars Hollow to pick up Louise for their date, he checked out her address on Google Maps and then, for the hell of it, he also checked out her house on Google Earth. What he saw on the satellite photo blew his mind away as he sat and started at the Citizen Kane-style mansion on his computer screen. Her house must have been at least three times as big as Richard and Emily Gilmore's.

He cringed at the thought of meeting her parents. They were probably going to be even worse than the Gilmores to put up with – if that was even possible. He remembered how much he'd put up with during that dinner at the Gilmore's house and he was bound and determined to just walk out of the house the second a condescending remark was leveled at him by either one of her parents.

His father, Randy, came up behind him and wondered why he was spying on someone's house. When Dean explained he was picking up his date at this house, his father, who had a delicious sense of humor, remarked, "Way to go, Dean. I'm proud to see you moving up in the world. See if she has any younger brothers for Clara."

Dean pretended to be annoyed at Randy and excused himself to start getting ready for the evening. An hour later he was ready to go and walked outside and jumped into his blue 1998 Ford Explorer. He'd been so proud when he'd saved up his money from Doose's to purchase this vehicle and now suddenly he felt like he was driving a piece of junk. He shook his head, wondering what this rich chick wanted with him.

**WELCOME TO MCMANSION'S…**

When Dean arrived at Louise's home, a guard in a booth at the gate pressed a button to open the gate to allow Dean to drive in and instructed him to drive around to the parking lot and wait for the security guard to take him the rest of the way to the main house.

Dean drove three quarters of a mile down a winding, gray cobblestone drive before he reached the parking lot. He pulled into a lot that had enough room for about forty cars to park and a security guard, who customarily patrolled the grounds, met him in a golf cart and drove him up a steep hill, where the mansion rested**.** When he reached the front door, he took a few moments to gaze at the absolute splendor of the sprawling and palatial Tudor-style manor before he rang the doorbell.

Dean was promptly greeted at the door by the butler and escorted into a drawing room to wait for Louise to come downstairs. The butler reappeared with a sterling silver tray piled up with refreshments and advised Dean Louise would be down to meet him in about ten more minutes. Dean selected a vitamin water and a mini protein bar from the tray and then the butler handed him a copy of _Sports Illustrated _to keep him occupied while he waited for Louise to make her appearance.

Fifteen minutes later, Louise entered the drawing room softly. Dean was buried in a _Sports Illustrated_ article about Lance Armstrong and did not see Louise making her entrance until several moments later.

He happened to look up from the magazine and was instantly mesmerized by her unparalleled beauty. While he had also been undeniably attracted to Rory, it suddenly dawned on him that Louise was already a woman and that Rory still had a lot of maturing to do before she could truly achieve the status of womanhood. Louise gazed at Dean and smiled her famous beguiling smile and apologized for not being ready when he arrived. He reassured her that he hadn't minded and that she was definitely worth the wait.

He helped her with her pink cashmere coat and wrapped his strong arm around her delicate shoulders and escorted her through the long marble foyer and out to the front walk, where they were picked up by the driver in the golf cart and driven down the hill to the parking lot. He was more than relieved that he didn't have to be burdened with meeting her parents, but he also couldn't help wonder why they hadn't shown up to check him out since this was their first date.

**A NEW GIRL IN TOWN…**

Rory, Jess, Lane and Dave Rygalski had decided to go to the Stars Hollow High Winter Wonderland dance together on a double date. Jess had only agreed to bring Rory to the dance because she'd threatened to go with Dean if he didn't take her and Dave had brought Lane after Lane lied to Mrs. Kim and told her that the school band was performing gospel music for a Bible study group.

Rory was in her glory as she strolled into the dance with Jess on her arm. She was sure the girls at her old alma mater would be exceedingly envious that she had managed to capture another one of their sexy newcomers. Lane was just as proud to be walking in with Dave Rygalski. Heads turned in surprise as her fellow classmates spotted her on an actual date. Practically everyone in town knew Mrs. Kim kept Lane under lock and key and most wondered how she managed to escape from her house for the night to come to the dance, let alone bring a boy with her.

Rory could not contain her excitement about the evening and wanted to have few minutes alone with Lane so they could chat with her about their romances away from their dates.

While they were gone, Dean and Louise arrived and somehow Louise got momentarily separated from Dean when he turned to say hello to his friend Todd.

Jess, Kyle and Dave Rygalski were standing together and all of them spotted Louise at the same time. Kyle exclaimed admiringly to Jess and Dave, "Wow, major babe alert," as she sauntered past them breezily.

"Wow is right," Jess chimed in. He could not take his eyes off Louise and suddenly wished he was a free man.

Just then, Dean caught up with Louise and escorted her to the refreshment table for some punch.

You could have knocked Jess over with a feather when he saw Dean was her escort. _How does that idiot manage to catch all the breaks? _Jess thought jealously. _I just stole Rory away from him and now he moves on to someone who's ten times better._

"What are you looking at?" Rory asked Jess curiously as she and Lane returned from the ladies room.

Jess stood silent, trying to come up with any answer but the truth, but Kyle stupidly torpedoed him by blurting out the answer Jess was trying to hide from Rory.

"Oh, he was checking out the new chick in school, along with the rest of us. Man is she hot!" Kyle blabbed unwittingly, getting Jess into hot water.

"_What_ new chick?" Rory asked jealously, expecting to the belle of the ball at tonight's event.

"That sexy blonde in the pink dress," Kyle answered as he pointed to Louise.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Enchanting Forester  
****CHAPTER THREE**

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Louise  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Louise, Paris, Rory, Dean, Mrs. Kim, Jess, Dave, Kyle and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

Rory felt extreme jealousy as she spotted Louise with Dean. The last thing she wanted to do was to be forced to introduce Jess to Louise when she already knew he was attracted to her. She grabbed Lane by the arm and they went out to the school's courtyard so she could fill her in.

"Whoa, Rory!" Lane exclaimed. "What gives? We just spent twenty minutes in the ladies room, and I'd like to see Dave at least part of the night tonight since it's nearly impossible to be ever be on a real date with him."

"Don't worry, Lane. You'll get plenty of time with Dave tonight. I just needed to give you a heads up that Louise from Chilton is here on a date tonight with Dean. I just wanted to let you know that because I'm trying to duck her because I don't want to have to introduce her to Jess, so please don't say hi to her or tell her I'm here. Kyle accidentally told me Jess thinks she's hot and if she's already managed to snag Dean, she might want to move onto Jess if she knows how he feels about her looks."

"Oh…I see, how are you going to…"

"Lane Kim!" Mrs. Kim called out angrily, suddenly appearing out of nowhere – as usual. "I find out your Bible concert was big lie. You will come home with me immediately and memorize ten pages of Bible verses before you go to bed tonight for this terrible sin you committed."

"Yes, Mama," Lane replied weakly, feeling humiliated and disappointed her evening with Dave had been cut short before it had even started. The only bright spot was that Mrs. Kim hadn't embarrassed her in front of Dave.

Rory decided to hide out for a few more minutes. She figured if she waited a little while longer, Dean and Louise would get lost in the crowd and then it would be safe to find Jess.

Rory walked back into the dance only to see her worst fears coming true before her eyes as she saw Jess staring directly at Dean and Louise.

"Come on, Jess, let's dance," she commanded, trying to get his full attention back on her.

"Yeah, yeah, okay, nothing fancy," Jess answered half-heartedly as he took her hand and led Rory to the dance floor.

Rory glanced over at Dean and Louise dancing. It was a slow dance, and Dean was holding her respectfully. Louise looked very comfortable in his arms, like they had been dancing together for years. Dean said something and Louise laughed and kissed his cheek. Another pang of jealousy went through her.

"Earth to Rory, earth to Rory," Jess said sarcastically. He was starting to feel like Dean did at the dance marathon, when Rory couldn't take her eyes off of him and Shane.

"Oh sorry Jess, I was just thinking about a school assignment."

Jess stared at her skeptically, "It was your idea to come to this dance, so at least you can do is pay attention to me."

"I said I was sorry, Jess."

"Look Rory we can leave anytime you want, it would not break my heart."

"No Jess, I wanted to come to the dance and to show people I was with you."

Louise noticed that Dean was graceful on his feet for a big guy. She really liked how he treated her with respect, and consideration. His manners were far better than a lot of the rich guys she knew.

The dance ended and Dean took her hand and led her to their table. At the table was the girl who had kissed Dean on the cheek last Saturday with her date and another tall beautiful girl. When they arrived the guys stood up, which surprised her. Dean introduced her to the table, "Louise, this is Shane and her date Pete, and Lindsay with her date, Ray."

Louise figured she would engage Shane in conversation. Shane was a very beautiful girl, and she loved the dress she had on. "Shane, didn't we briefly meet last Saturday?"

"Yes we did. I am sorry I did not introduce myself."

"Dean told me that you were a new friend. Did you just move here?"

"Oh no, I grew up here."

"Where did you buy that beautiful dress you're wearing?"

Shane laughed, "Thanks for the compliment. I did not buy it, I made it."

Louise was very surprised and impressed. She wondered if Dean liked self sufficient girls like Shane. "You're very talented, Shane, I'm impressed."

"Shane, do you know Dean from school?"

"Sort of," Shane replied mysteriously and then looked around and spotted Rory and Jess. "You see that couple over there?"

"Yes, I know Rory; I go to school with her."

Shane was surprised. "You go to Chilton, too? We were wondering where you were from and how Dean met you. Anyway, I was the girlfriend of that guy, Jess. What Dean and I did not know was that Rory and Jess had a thing going on behind our backs. Finally, Dean figured it out and called Rory on it. He was sick of being played for the fool and broke up with her. Which in turn, was when Jess canned me. So now you have the happy couple."

"So little 'Miss Innocent' was dating two boys at the same time?"

"Yeah, she can be a nasty bitch when she wants to be. Rory came into the shop I work in and talked to me like I was some stupid peon beneath her."

Shane's date tapped her on the shoulder and wanted to dance. "I'll talk to you later, Louise."

Louise turned to Dean, who was in a conversation with Ray about ice hockey. Dean noticed she was sitting there quietly. "Louise, excuse me, I did not mean to ignore you."

"You weren't; I was talking to Shane. Finish your conversation and I will talk to Lindsay."

Louise got up and walked around the table and sat next to Lindsay. "Hi, are you having a good time?"

Lindsay smiled at her, "As good as expected I guess."

"Are you and Shane good friends?"

"We hang out sometimes. My parents don't really like her. They think she is a bad influence."

"How about your boyfriend, Ray?"

Lindsay looked down and softly said "He is not my boyfriend. He is my cousin."

The fact that Ray was Lindsay's cousin made no sense to her. The girl was breathtakingly beautiful. Her height may be an obstacle. Louise figured Lindsay stood six feet tall in her heels. Louise put her hand over Dean's. "Let's dance."

Dean stood up and led her to the dance floor. "I'm sorry I'm ignoring you."

"Oh, Dean, you're not ignoring me. People go to things like this to talk to other people, and that is what I am doing." Louise laughed, "You know, you can find out a lot of things about a person by talking to their friends. Besides, we are going to have plenty of time to talk. I did not talk to the guys. I do like the two girls who are your friends. I also think Shane has a little thing for you."

"Louise, we shared a common experience. Shane knows you're with me. She would never do anything to get between us."

"Another question Dean..."

"Sure."

"How come Lindsay came to the dance with her cousin? She is gorgeous. Why can't she get a regular date?"

"Yeah she's gorgeous – she was voted best looking girl of the junior class, but she's painfully shy. I think a lot of guys take the shyness as being stuck up. Plus, from what I have heard, her parents are very dictatorial. They like the idea that she got voted the best looking girl in her class, but she isn't allowed to date anyone unless her parents can screen him first to verify that he'd make a suitable son-in-law. So far no one has met their standards because a guy would have to be crazy to put up with parents grilling him about what kind of husband he would make before he's even had a chance to take the girl out a real date. So a lot of times they get her cousin, Ray Hadley, to be her escort."

"Ray and Lindsay get along well, but it is hell on Ray's love life. Also, I know Lindsay would like to go away to college, but her parents think the only career she should focus on is being a wife and mother. They think it's the man's job to support his family and if she doesn't go away to college they can control her life until they hand her off to the 'proper' husband."

"Dean, what I see happening is that they're either going to force her into an arranged marriage or that girl is going to bolt when she is eighteen, or shortly thereafter. Either way she's going to be a victim. Even if she does have the guts to bolt, she'll probably fall for the first asshat boy that comes along because she's never had a chance to learn how to really date guys."

"Well, Louise,the good news is that she's been hanging out with Shane lately and I think that'll probably be her saving grace. Shane's a sharp girl with a heart of gold for her friends and hopefully she'll run interference for her."

Rory noticed that Dean and Louise were dancing again. They were talking and laughing like they had been a couple for years. It pissed her off. She knew that the only reason Dean asked Louise to the dance was to show her up. It was about time she and Louise had a conversation. It would be odd that they were both at the same dance and did not talk to each other.

Rory thought it was odd that besides Kyle, and the abandoned Dave, that no one bothered to talk to them. Jess was in a conversation with Kyle when she spotted Louise walking to the ladies room. She excused herself and walked to the ladies room.

Rory walked in and spotted Louise fixing her lipstick, peering into a mirror. "Hi, Louise, sorry I haven't spoken to you earlier."

"Oh hi, Rory, I have been meaning to say hello to you. Pretty good dance. I sort of like it better than the Chilton dances."

"Well, Louise, I see you went all out to be the queen of the ball."

Thank you, Rory. It is just a little outfit I threw together at the last minute. I was really impressed with the dress Shane made herself, she seems like she's a very nice girl. Do you know her, Rory?"

Rory sullenly answered, "Yes…look Louise, how did Dean get a hold of you to invite you to the dance? You never said anything to me in school about it."

"I did not think it was a big deal. You said you had broken up with him."

"You know, Louise, he is using you."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's obvious, we broke up, and he shows up at my old school with you at a dance. He just wants to show me up."

A voice from behind Rory said, "I'd say he is doing a **real** good job of showing you up, Rory."

Rory turned and there was Shane standing in front of the door. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that Louise is the talk of the dance**,** all the guys are checking her out and wondering who she is."

"All she is is a boy crazy, mediocre student at Chilton."

That stung Louise. She had considered Rory a friend.

"Well, well," Shane commented without surprise, "Little Goody-Two Shoes' stinger has emerged again."

Louise looked at Rory. "I thought you were a friend, Rory. I was the only person in Chilton who spoke to you when you first arrived and for your information, Dean did not approach me. _I_ went after him, and even _if_ he is using me – and I know that he isn't - it's none of your concern what he does now since you dumped him for another guy."

Rory turned and walked out of the ladies room.

"Thanks, Shane, I have to ask you a question. I hope you're not offended. Do you like Dean?"

Shane laughed. "Well, that was a blunt direct question. The answer is yes, but he is with you. I respect that."

"Thanks, Shane, I appreciate your honest answer. Let's go rejoin our dates."

Rory walked back to her table and sat down. Jess turned to her. "What is bugging you?"

"Your ex-girlfriend and Dean's date, Louise."

Jess looked over at Dean and Louise. The chick was hot, but Dean was stupid, he'd put them in their place when the time came.

Dave Rygalski was bored. His date got snatched away by her mother. He really liked Lane, but her mother regarded him as some sort of alien being sent down to introduce her daughter to unheard of perversions. He did think of the things he liked to do, but none of them sounded perverted to him. Rory and Jess were no fun and Kyle was a pain in the ass with a big mouth. He decided to get out, and go home. As he was walking to the door, Ray Hadley stopped him.

"Where are you going, Dave?"

Ray knew Dave from when he took guitar lessons, and they got along well. "Home, my date was snatched up by her mother."

"You're kidding, who were you with?"

"Lane Kim."

"She's cute, Dave, that's too bad. Hey, I have an idea. Look, I am here with my cousin. I am getting real tired of dancing with her, and I am sure she is real tired of dancing with me. Since you're alone, why don't you join us and have some fun and take the strain off of me?"

Dave thought about it, "Sure, who is your cousin?"

"Come on I will introduce you."

Dave walked over to the table. He saw Dean and his mystery date in an animated conversation. Shane, Jess's ex, was talking to her date. Ray stopped in front of Lindsay Lister. Oh no, it couldn't be her he was going to get paired up with. He had heard that she was a stuck up snob. They said she thought she was too beautiful to interact with the mere peons of Stars Hollow High. "Dave, this is Lindsay. I am sure you will have more fun dancing with him than me. He's a good guy Lindsay."

Lindsay shyly looked at Dave and softly said, "Nice to meet you," then looked away.

"Lindsay, Dave would like to dance with you."

She smiled, "Ray he did not ask me."

Dave had never been this near to a girl that looked like her. He stammered "Wwwould you like to dance?

"Yes," she replied demurely and stood up. Lindsay looked him right in the eye. He did not realize that she was that tall.

Rory looked up, and spotted Lane's date dancing with Lindsay. She nudged Jess, "Look, there is Dave with Lindsay."

"Well, I guess that is the end of Lane," Jess predicated negatively.

"Wait till I tell her tomorrow."

"Louise, do you want to dance this one?"

She looked at him with her enigmatic smile and answered sexily, "I'd love to."

They started dancing and inadvertently bumped into Rory and Jess. Jess turned and remarked derisively, "Whoa, Dean, never thought I'd see you with a chick this sizzling. What'd you do? Call 1-800-HOOKERS and ask them to send you their best escort for the evening?"

Dean threw Jess against the wall and hollered "Mariano, if you ever insult Louise again, I'll pulverize you into such tiny pieces that your Italian relatives in Brooklyn will be able to serve you and marinara sauce over linguini. Come on, Louise, let's go find a place where some people actually have some class," Dean suggested as he wrapped his sturdy arm around her tiny waist and started to escorted her to the exit.

Before Dean and Louise walked out of the dance, she turned and shot a quick glance back at Rory and pocketed the fact that she neglected to come to her defense when Jess called her a hooker. That intentional slip-up, coupled with Rory's earlier remark about her being a boy crazy, mediocre student, had just officially put Ms. Gilmore on melting ice as far as her social standing at school. Louise had helped make Rory at Chilton and she definitely had the power to break her, too.

She'd find a way to get even with Rory through Paris and make sure that the rest of the time she spent at Chilton would be an even more uncomfortable experience for her than it already was.

Louise purred appreciatively as Dean escorted her to his car. She'd always remembered when Dean threatened to fight Tristan on Rory's behalf at the Chilton dance and now he'd so valiantly done as much for her. She had tried to fight her innate attraction for Dean all night long, but his virile gutsiness finally pushed her over the edge and she just knew she had to find a place for them to be alone.

As Dean opened the door for Louise, she looked up at him with her chocolaty, languid eyes and murmured,"Thanks for putting that lowlife in his place, Dean. I'm sorry we had to cut our time at the dance short, but I hope it doesn't mean we have to cut our evening short. If you'd like to drive us back to my manse, we can have lots of privacy at my father's corporate guest house."

Dean had been extremely pissed off at Jess' insulting remark about Louise. Of course he knew he'd only said it because he was jealous. In a small way, Dean was glad Jess had acted like his usual uncharming self by letting his mouth run over like a clogged toilet, because it suddenly made him aware of just how precious it was that Louise had chosen to be with him. With her wealth, personality and drop dead gorgeous looks, she could have any man she wanted. He still didn't understand why she'd picked him, but he wanted to stick around long enough to find out.

After Dean and Louise left, Rory just stood there looking at Jess in hurt and disbelief. She could not believe he would be so obvious about being attracted to another girl when he had her. She also began to wonder if she'd made a huge mistake about dumping Dean to be with Jess when Louise seemed to think he was so wonderful.

**TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

**

**A/N: Pictures of the supporting characters have now been posted to the LostGirlsofStarsHollow account page. Hope you'll take a minute to log on and enjoy them. And speaking of enjoy…please leave a review if you enjoyed reading this chapter or this story in general. Many thanks! **


	4. Chapter 4

**The Enchanting Forester  
****CHAPTER FOUR**

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Louise  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Louise, Paris, Rory, Dean, Madeline, and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

When Dean and Louise reached her family's estate, she instructed the booth attendant at the gate to call ahead to the butler to deliver a "Louise Late Night Special" for two to the corporate guest house.

Dean almost shrugged and suppressed the urge to laugh. To him, a "Louise Late Night Special" sounded like a midnight visit from a call girl. He just had to know what she was talking about and went ahead and asked.

"Louise, what on earth is a 'Louise Late Night Special'? If you ask me, that sounds more than a little risqué."

"Well, trust me, handsome, anything risqué we'll be participating in won't involve my butler. I'm more sophisticated than most girls my age, but I definitely don't swing that way. A 'Louise Late Night Special' for two is a fast way of letting our butler, Nelson, know that I want two Panini style sandwiches made on sour dough bread with granny smith apple slices, white Vermont cheddar and maple style bacon, along with two bowls of creamy tomato soup and fresh basil. I usually don't eat anything after 9:00 at night, but when I do, it's always that kind of sandwich and soup and never anything else, so I've just shortened it to the "Louise Late Night Special" to make it easier for Nelson. Otherwise, I'd have to sit there and relay all that through the gate attendant like we were at a McDonald's drive-in window and I'm in a rather big hurry to get to the house to be alone with you if you know what I mean," Louise commented to Dean seductively.

Dean couldn't even wait to get to the guest house to make his move, he immediately pulled his Ford Explorer over to the edge of the cobblestone drive and put the vehicle in park, then grabbed Louise, kissing her with a feverish passion. As he felt Louise's warm and soft pillowly lips against his, he realized how much fuller and seductive her lips were compared to Rory's. Louise let out a series of low moans while they were kissing, which only heightened his desire. They kissed for another ten minutes and then Louise gently reminded him that Nelson would be waiting for them at the guest house and that they'd also be more comfortable kissing there than they would in his vehicle.

Dean put the Explorer in drive and proceeded to the guest house. Louise informed him to make a right at the parking lot and to follow the road for about another half mile. When he arrived at the guest house and saw how gigantic it was, he was stunned. He'd envisioned the corporate guest house would be about the size of the pool house at Rory's grandparents. Instead, he beheld a three story, colonial revival style house, replete with Corinthian style columns, and French glass doors on the upper floors that opened out to individual, rounded terraces.

Louise explained the house had five corporate guest rooms, two kitchens, a small conference room, a theater that could seat a couple of dozen people and a veranda with a pool and a Jacuzzi in the back of the house. Guests could also walk around to the back, press an intercom button and one of the security guards would come around and pick them up and take them out to the golf course or the horse stables on the property, if they so chose.

Dean had always been very impressed with the Twickham house in Stars Hollow, but not even that big, beautiful home could rival the grandeur of this house.

The guest house also had a full basement, but that was off limits to any of the corporate guests. While Louise never visited the house when her father used the house to entertain his clients, she'd had it fixed for herself like a private apartment and also kept a certain amount of clothing in the basement on hand so that she didn't have to travel back and forth to her house when she was hanging out there.

About the time they entered the house, Nelson arrived with the tray of food. He'd also brought along some bottled waters, diet sodas and some organic grape and apple juices for them to drink with their "snack." Louise thanked Nelson for the food and gave him a flirtatious wink, which was really her way of telling him to get lost. Nelson smiled knowingly and was on his way.

Dean caught the silent exchange between the two of them and hoped Louise wasn't _too_ much into the habit of privately entertaining guys at this house.

Louise stared hungrily at the food, but realized she was not about to let herself drip tomato soup or melted cheese on a $3,000 Oscar de la Renta dress, so she told Dean to make himself comfortable while she went down to the basement to get changed.

She emerged about ten minutes later, wearing a pair of black, skin tight, cotton Capri pants, a black stretch, skinny strap camisole top and a pair of adorable black, crushed velvet ballet slippers.

Dean had known Louise was delectable before, but now he could see every trace of curves that outlined her voluptuous body. He also adored how tiny she was, half of him wanted to make wild passionate love to her that very second, the other half of him wanted to pick her up and put her protectively in a dolly carriage because she looked so delicate. He found Louise's mixture of daintiness and sensuality to be a very alluring combination.

They both quickly gulped down their food and then Louise said, "I think we'd be more comfortable in the parlor," and led him immediately out of the kitchen and onto a plush, cranberry-colored, velour sofa in the parlor. Dean put Louise in his lap and they sank into the sofa and started kissing again.

Louise reveled in feeling Dean's tall, muscular frame pressed up against her body and his warm, huge hands expertly caressing her supple flesh and she didn't want him to leave too soon. After they'd made out for a few more minutes, Louise looked up at him with her scintillating espresso eyes and murmured, "You know, you could spend the night here at the guest house if you'd like."

Dean gulped, he was definitely turned on by Louise, but had no intentions of disrespecting her by violating her body on their first date, even if that was the treatment she was used to getting from the spoiled Richie Richs she normally went out with.

"Uh, Louise…I appreciate the offer, but it's probably not even a good idea for me to be here alone with you on our first date, let alone for us to spend the night together. I want this thing to last and not turn into a sleazy quickie that'll end things between us before it ever even starts."

"Trust me, I have no intention of losing you by giving in too quickly. I just thought it might be a little late for you to drive back to Stars Hollow. By the way… for your information, the guys who try to take things too far with me on a first date never get another chance to try it. Congratulations, Paul Bunyan, you've just earned the right to have a second date with me."

Dean laughed at her comment and hugged her body tightly to his own and then kissed her affectionately on the cheek. Her brand of dry wit and ultra confidence was a breath of fresh air compared to **all** the other girls he'd ever dated, including, and maybe especially, Rory. Louise had an intriguing air of mystery about her that made him want to find out what made her tick.

"Okay, Thumbelina," he responded teasingly, getting her back for the Paul Bunyan nickname she'd tagged him with, "we both know we desire each other in a big way, but I guess we both also agree that we should take this thing slowly. Before I fall too hard for you, though, I just gotta know a couple of things…"

"Such as," Louise asked suspiciously, as she cocked her eyebrow quizzically.

"Such as…are you dating any other guys right now, Louise? I'm not trying to pressure you or anything, it's just that I've always been a one woman kind of guy and I won't stop seeing you if you say you are. But I gotta warn you, if you want to keeping seeing other guys, I'll probably have to stop seeing you once I find a woman who only wants to –"

"Dean, you need to give a girl a chance to answer. I'm not a nun or anything, I do have a few guys I date casually so I can maintain an active social life, but I don't have anything serious going on with any of them. If you really want to be with me exclusively, then I won't see them anymore. Simple – end of story. What's the next thing that's bothering you?" she asked bluntly and impatiently.

"Well…believe it or not that was actually the _easy_ question. You may want to end things after I ask you this question, but after what Rory put me through, I don't want to take any more chances of getting in too deep with a woman only to find out I've just been wasting my time so I'm just going to get this over now…Louise, where do you see this going between us?" Dean asked hesitantly, dreading her answer. "I'm actually afraid we can only go so far because of your enormous wealth. When I first started going out with Rory, she stupidly dragged me over to her grandparents' house and they treated me like garbage and told me I had no business being with their granddaughter because I'd committed the unpardonable sin of being born into a mere middle class family."

"Big surprise…" Louise responded sarcastically.

"I see…so basically you're saying your parents would have the same reaction to you dating me?"

"No, I'm **not** saying my parents would have the same reaction to me dating you…what I'm saying is that I'm not surprised that is the way Richard and Emily Gilmore reacted to Rory dating you. Living in the world that you do, there's something you don't understand about people like the Gilmores."

"Oh, no…I think I understand people like the Gilmores very well," Dean replied skeptically.

"Nope, not as much as you think you, Dean. You see, you perceive the Gilmores as very rich people because of the way you grew up. You've never had a chance to see how the other half truly lives. The truth is that the Gilmores are more like upper middle class and barely wealthy when you compare them to the way people live in _my_ world. The reason they acted like such pigs when you were at their house is because they know they'll never have the kind of prosperity my family and other truly affluent families in New England have. That's why they put down people less fortunate than them every chance they get. Plus, I'm sure they never got over the shame of that whole 'our daughter is sixteen and pregnant' incident that went down with Rory's mother, so that probably made them even more asinine than they already were."

"Okay…well, that makes sense and is very interesting, but I don't see how that means your parents are going to feel any differently about me than they did."

"Dean, you don't get it at all…my parents are totally secure in their social standing. Granted, they wouldn't want me dating the garbage man or marrying someone working the fryer at a fast food restaurant, but they don't _need_ to validate their self worth through my boyfriends. In other words, my father only wants his little princess to be happy. He would have _never _dared to treat you like that idiot Richard Gilmore did. It just so happens that I have a **very** fat trust fund coming my way, courtesy of my grandfather, when I turn 25, so he knows if he pisses me off like that, I can just tell him to go to hell and take my money and run when the time comes."

"Yes, Louise, but aren't you going to eventually want a man as wealthy as your father later on?"

"I don't **need** any man to support me, Dean. I already have a guaranteed position with my father's corporation that'll pay me a substantial amount of money after I graduate from college. Of course…if we do end up being together by then, I'll expect you to be doing something with yourself, I'm too beautiful to need a gigolo either," she said teasingly, tilting her head back as she gave a deep, sultry laugh and her butter blonde hair poured down her back and across her bare shoulders.

Dean couldn't resist playing with Louise's silky, golden hair and that led to another wild kiss between them before he finally told her that he needed to get home.

"Good night, Paul Bunyan," Louise said as she grabbed Dean and pulled him into her tighter so she could savor the moment and fantasize about him all night long.

As they slowly released their embrace, Dean touched Louise affectionately on the cheek and said, "Good night, Thumbelina," and reluctantly turned to leave. He knew he was going to miss her terribly and couldn't wait to see her again. "I'll call you tomorrow, honey," he promised.

As Dean climbed back into his Explorer and started driving back to Stars Hollow, he felt much better about going out with Louise. Of course, it would take an awful lot for him to trust a woman completely after the number Rory had done on him. She'd paraded around like a virgin queen, pretending to have a pure and caring heart. In reality, she'd used her façade of innocence to manipulate people into doing her bidding. It was a shame, really, because her mother, Lorelai, actually _did_ have a considerate heart that cared about people, especially for people who she knew cared about her, too. He concluded that Rory was probably a lot more like her grandparents than she was her mother, even if she didn't realize it yet.

Dean lived up to his promise and called Louise the next morning and quickly secured a date for the following weekend. He suggested they catch the Metro North train to go into Manhattan the following Saturday, to see "Hairspray." His parents were more than a little concerned that he was taking a girl he barely knew out for a night on Broadway. Both of them knew it wouldn't be a cheap evening and after the way Rory used him, they figured he was probably setting himself up for more of the same.

When Louise got back to school on Monday, she quietly started informing various student groups about what a backstabber Rory Gilmore was and that she couldn't be trusted. She'd already told Madeline and Paris via the telephone what had happened at the dance over the weekend and when she got to school, she went around telling all the other power players at Chilton to spread the word. The first power player was Francie, the leader of the Puffs, then she went on to tell others on the Franklin newspaper, the debate team, the student council and team captains of various sports clubs on campus. By noon, on Monday, word had spread like wildfire that Rory was to be regarded as a leper for the rest of her time at Chilton.

At first, Rory was oblivious to the universal cold shoulder she was getting at her school. When Paris refused to speak to her during her morning classes, she'd just chalked it up to her moodiness and when Madeline refused to speak to her during her early afternoon class, she figured she was just doing that to please Paris and that it was just a short lived silent treatment, which was okay with her because it gave her a chance to catch up on reading her novel during lunch.

She still hadn't figured out that she'd become the outcast of Chilton until the third day, when Headmaster Charleston had noticed and had her summoned to his office to discuss the matter.

Rory was so used to Luke, Jess, Lane, Sookie, her mother and her grandparents constantly fawning over her and telling her how great she was, she figured Headmaster Charleston had probably wanted to see her to tell her what a magnificent student she was and give her an approving pat on the head.

She almost went into shock as Headmaster Charleston asked her to take a seat and began to speak.

"Miss Gilmore, it has come to my attention that you are reverting back to your antisocial ways that we spoke about when you first began to attend Chilton. I have to say, I find this latest development quite disturbing."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Headmaster Charleston. I-I've become much more outgoing since then," Rory stammered in disbelief. "You're holding my file. If you actually take a look at it, you'll see that I'm on the Franklin paper, I'm a member of the debate team, as well as the Vice President of the Student Body. I don't know how much more extracurricular activity I can handle and still maintain my stellar GPA."

"Uh…yes," Headmaster Charleston replied in a deadpan voice as he moved his reading glasses down from the top of his forehead and quickly glanced through the manila folder containing Rory's information. "But it has come to my attention that no one on this campus has interacted with you in the last three days except myself and your instructors. We assume you are at fault and simply cannot allow a person lacking in social skills to remain a part of our student body. Chilton has a reputation of excellence we are obliged to maintain in order to remain competitive in the academic world of finer college preparatory schools in the Northeast."

"But this isn't fair, Headmaster Charleston," Rory protested, "I have no idea where any of this is suddenly coming from. Yeah, Paris hasn't spoken to me in three days and so naturally neither would Louise or Madeline, that's the way they work. I'm sure it'll all blow over soon."

"You mean to tell me in all the time you've been at Chilton, you've only managed to strike up acquaintances with three of our students?"

"Well, yeah… I uh, thought that was plenty of people considering the demands of our academic load here," Rory responded helplessly as she stared into the Headmaster's steely, unsympathetic, gray eyes.

"Ms. Gilmore, the most I can do for you now is to inform you that you have thirty days to rectify the situation. If, I find you have not been able to establish any sort of communications with the students here on campus in thirty days, you will be asked to leave Chilton. Furthermore, if you have your grandparents or your mother contact me on your behalf to reconsider this thirty day policy, your relationship with Chilton will be severed immediately. You may return to your class now. See my secretary on the way out and she will issue you a tardy note for your next class instructor," Headmaster Charleston informed her coldly, pointing at his office door.

Rory got up and mumbled weakly, "Thank you, Headmaster Charleston," and started for the door. She now had an inkling of what it felt like to be employed as a maid by Emily Gilmore, having been so expertly demeaned and debased by the Headmaster for no apparent good reason.

Rory collected the tardy excuse from the secretary and tearfully headed towards her locker. It dawned on her that the Headmaster was right, it wasn't just Paris and her clique that'd been freezing her out, _no one_ had acknowledged her presence since she'd come to school on Monday. She _finally_ realized was getting her comeuppance for the flippant way she'd acted towards Louise at the Stars Hollow High dance.

She'd stupidly let her guard down at the dance, forgetting that Stars Hollow really wasn't her territory anymore and forgot about the major power that Louise wielded and her parents' bank account wielded at Chilton. She knew was going to have some major sucking up to do over the next thirty days.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Enchanting Forester  
****CHAPTER FIVE**

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Louise  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Louise, Paris, Rory, Dean, Madeline, and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

**PARIS' DILEMMA**

Paris was in a quandary. Unbeknownst to Headmaster Charleston and Rory, she had overheard the conversation that had taken place in his office. She was in an alcove off of the secretary's office going through back issues of the school newspaper. She was looking at issues from fifty years ago. Paris wanted to do a timeline story basically showing how the school improved and or declined over that time frame.

Paris wanted Rory to stay in Chilton. She enjoyed the competition. Rory pushed her. She also had a grudging admiration for her academic abilities. Paris looked upon Rory as something in between a friend and a person of interest. Her problem was that Louise was quite angry at what happened at the Stars Hollow High dance. _Why did she go to that stupid dance anyway_? she wondered.

Louise was more or less a very calm person who liked people and really did not let much of anything bother her. Paris considered talking to her about the big Rory freeze-out, but Louise had already spoken to every power broker in the school. Louise was very adamant about getting even with Rory. Paris figured she had known Louise since first grade, and owed loyalty to her. Plus, she knew it would not bode well for her at Chilton, either, if she tried to go against Louise when she had gotten the support of all the campus VIPs. Paris knew she would think of something. She always did.

**LOUISE GOES TO STARS HOLLOW**

Wednesday morning in History, Louise realized that they were having a half day of school today. It was beautiful out. She was missing Dean. Louise thought to herself that she really liked the kissing and hugging, but she also just liked being around him. Louise laughed to herself,_ Hell, I just like watching him walk._

Both Madeline, and had driven their own cars to school today, so she did not have to worry about Madeline. Plus, since Tristan had come back from military school in Wilmington, North Carolina for a visit, Madeline had been showing interest in him. Louise was sure Madeline would rather stay in Hartford than tag along with her to Stars Hollow.

Even though it was a half-day, the last hour of school dragged on. Finally they were dismissed for the day. As soon as Louise left the building she turned on her cell phone and called Dean. She was hoping to catch him during his lunch break so he could talk. The phone rang three times and she heard Dean's voice answer and say "Hey what's up, Thumbie?" he asked affectionately teasing her with a nickname for the other Thumbelina nickname he'd recently given her. "This is a nice surprise."

"I had a half day of school, Paul Bunyan," Louise replied, zinging him back with the Paul Bunyan nickname for calling her Thumbie. "I'm out now and I'm going to drive to Stars Hollow for the afternoon so I don't have to wait until Saturday to lay eyes on that handsome face of yours."

"Louise, you're very welcome to drive over, but I have to work at the market till six p.m."

"Can I help you bag groceries?" she asked with a laugh.

"I wish you could, baby."

Louise loved it when he called her baby. "Dean, I will be out front of your school when you get out. Do me a favor. Find Shane and see if she wants to hang out while you're working."

"You and Shane? I did not see that one coming. She is a great girl, I am sure she will want to."

"Dean, if you can figure a way to get off early, I will be a very appreciative girlfriend." Louise murmured, letting her voice drop a few octaves when she said that.

Dean closed his eyes and thought of kissing her. "I will do my best. Wait by the entrance on the side of the school."

"Bye, Paul Bunyan," she said and she hung up.

Louise realized that Dean had never seen her in a Chilton uniform. She knew that he had seen Rory in hers several times. _I think I will go as is, _she thought. Might as well get going.

Louise walked out to her Red Mustang convertible got in and started the car. She shifted into first gear, and slowly eased out of the parking lot. Once on the road, she quickly shifted up to fourth gear and she was off. The road was too curvy and there was too much traffic for her to use fifth gear.

Her father had a rule. You learned how to drive on a standard shift car and you took your test on one also. Her older brother had to do it and so did she. He had also sent them to a racing school to learn how to drive. Louise liked her sporty powerful Mustang, and she knew how to drive it.

Louise arrived in Stars Hollow and realized that she had about an hour and a half to kill before Stars Hollow High let its students out for the day. She decided to go to Luke's and have a burger since Chilton didn't serve lunch on half days. Louise figured that Rory would be behind her as she took the bus home. It would be interesting what her reaction would be when she saw Louise in Luke's.

Louise parked her car and walked into Luke's. Luke did a double take when he saw her. Louise sat at the counter. Luke walked over and asked, "Do you go to Chilton?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you know Rory Gilmore?"

"Yes, I'll take a burger medium rare, lettuce and tomato, no cheese, and a cup of tea." Louise was going to get a slice of onion, but she planned on kissing Dean so she skipped it.

"Are you here to see Rory?"

"No, may I read that paper you have on the counter?"

Luke walked over, picked up the paper and gave it to her. "You were in here last Saturday and I thought you said you were not coming back."

"Things change, plus I am not sitting where that idiot waiter of yours can bother me."

Luke decided he did not like this girl. When she first walked in he thought Rory had dyed her hair blonde. The girl was very unapproachable, plus he did not like her calling his nephew an idiot.

Louise finished her burger and was sipping on her cup of tea. She noticed Luke kept looking at her. She knew she bugged him. Louise asked for her bill and left a twenty percent tip. No Rory this visit. She walked out of the eatery and down the street, where she bought a couple of fashion magazines and then went back to her car.

Louise figured she would just find the side entrance and wait till they got out. The magazines would keep her occupied.

She heard a bell ring and it seemed like people poured out of that school like ants. Louise was getting tingly in anticipation of Dean. Suddenly she spotted Dean. He had Shane by the arm. Louise went from zero to bitch in one second, and realized that he was doing that so he would not lose her in the crowd. _Oh God, _she thought to herself_, I am getting way too jealous._

Dean opened the door to her Mustang, and Shane scooted into the back. Then Dean sat in the passenger seat. Without a word, they started kissing.

"Come on guys, I did not agree to spend an afternoon watching you two make out."

"Sorry, Shane," Louise said "but I haven't seen him since Saturday."

Shane started laughing, "You know, Louise, from that super sophisticated chick I saw at the dance, you sure have changed into normal, lovesick teen."

Louise blushed, "I plead the fifth." She started the car up and took Dean to the market. "Call me when you get off."

Dean kissed her again. "I will, baby," he replied, staring at her with a sexy look in his hazel eyes as he fantasized about them being alone together again. Then he went off to work with that thought firmly cemented in his brain, knowing he'd be able to think about very little else until he saw Louise again.

Shane jumped into the passenger seat. "Wow, this is some car you have. Can we go for a ride?"

"Sure, where do you want to go?"

"Just around town."

"Okay. So, Shane, where is Lindsay?"

"Probably home by now."

"Let's go get her."

"Louise, her mother does not like me. You will have to spring her."

"Tell me how to get to her house."

They arrived at Lindsay's house. Louise was a very self confident girl. "Watch this, Shane."

Louise walked down the leaf covered walk and up onto the porch. She rang the bell and stepped back. A blonde woman answered the door. Louise could now see where Lindsay got her looks. "Hi, I am Louise, and I met Lindsay at the dance last Saturday. Could I speak to her please?"

The tall blonde woman nodded, and told her to wait, that Lindsay would be right out. After a couple of minutes, Lindsay opened the door. It took her a minute to recognize Louise. "Hey Louise what are you doing here?"

"Well I came to spring you. That is my car and Shane is with me, can you get out?"

Lindsay went and returned with her mother. "Mom, this is Louise, she goes to a different school, but at the dance we were talking and we found out that we were both doing a report on the fall of the Roman Empire. We decided it would be neat if we put our heads together and wrote it."

"What school do you go to, Louise?"

"Chilton, Mrs. Lister."

"I never heard of it, but okay, you two go do what you have to do. Lindsay, you be back by six."

"Yes, Mom, I'll see you for dinner."

Once they got into the car, Louise left as fast as she could without attracting attention. "Lindsay, I am impressed with that story you came up with. You really can think on your feet. Are you really working on that at school?"

Lindsay nodded affirmative.

"I did it last year, when I come back I will give you my notes, and my report. You can take it from there."

Shane spoke up, "Let's go to my house."

**PARIS' PLAN**

Paris was racking her brains trying to come up with a plan so Rory would not get kicked out of Chilton. She also had to be careful. Paris needed to find someone who was sort of an outsider and not influenced by the various cliques in school. It also had to be someone she could control. She wished it wasn't a half day. The only way she was going to figure it out was to look through the lunch room, and figure out which one could be molded to her idea. The person had to think he or she was going to get something out of this.

Louise sure took off in a hurry. Paris wondered how serious this fling with Dean was. Louise was not known for her longevity in relationships. At least she had relationships. Paris wondered if she would die an old maid with fifteen cats.

Then it hit her. The perfect person to talk to Rory and get her back in good graces with Headmaster Chilton was _**BRAD**__!_ He didn't belong to any cliques at Chilton. In fact he was little more than a part time student. Plus, he was terrified of her, and would do just about anything Paris wanted. She would corner him tomorrow and tell him that Rory Gilmore needed him to talk to her, and that he should be a very good friend of hers.

This could even have bonus repercussions, if Jess caught them out on a date. She wondered if Rory could talk her way out of it they were caught together, but Paris was aware that Jess knew Rory had a history of sneaking around behind her boyfriend's back. The irony of this whole thing was that this time Jess was going to be the one snuck around on. She knew that his so called Italian maschismo would work against any common sense he had. She had liked Jess ever since she met him at the Bracebridge Dinner in Stars Hollow, and she knew that he was interested in her. If she got her hands on him, she sure as hell was not going to play little virgin girl. She was going to rock his world.

**SHANE'S HOUSE**

Shane gave Louise directions, and five minutes later they arrived at her house. Louise noticed that it was an older, comfortable looking two story brick home. It had a beautiful flower garden in the front flanking the walk to the porch. Also, ivy was growing up the left side of the house.

The three girls walked into the house. Shane's mom was used to having people over. Shane was a gregarious girl and made a lot of friends.

"Mom, you know Lindsay and this is Louise."

Louise stuck her hand out and shook Mrs. Ryan's hand. "Glad to meet you Mrs. Ryan."

"Same here, Louise. I see you have a uniform on. What school do you go to?"

"Chilton, it's in Hartford."

Mrs. Ryan was very curious. "So how do you know Shane?"

Shane laughed, "Come on, Mom, what is with the third degree? Louise is dating a guy from my school and we met at the dance last Saturday.

Alice Ryan put two and two together. "You go to school with Rory Gilmore, don't you?"

"Yes."

"So I guess the local boy you're chasing would have to be Dean. I don't care for that girl. You know she stole Shane's boyfriend. It was wrong, even though I thought to myself good riddance to Jess Mariano."

Louise was impressed. Shane's mother was a smart woman and not afraid to speak her mind.

"Mom, he was not that bad, I've seen worse around here. Come on, Lindsay and Louise, let's go to my room."

The three girls entered Shane's room and closed the door.

Louise started the conversation off. "Lindsay, how was that boy, Dave, that your cousin Ray introduced you to?"

"I liked him, but he is dating Lane Kim, or is _trying_ to date her. I am just going to think of him as a friend. I know I would not like some girl trying to steal my boyfriend. He is Lane's, so that is all I need to know."

Louise looked over at Lindsay. That was a long speech for her. The girl was painfully shy. She also liked what Lindsay said.

Louise took stock of Shane's room It was large with a queen sized bed, a very modern sewing machine off to the side, two double closets, a nice sized dresser and two night stands on either side of the bed with lamps on them. The room was painted a pale blue with white ceilings and trim. All and all, it was a very comfortable cheerful room.

Shane sat on the stool in front of the sewing machine. "Well, Louise, this is where I made my dress."

"Where did you learn how to sew like that?"

"I used to stay with my grandmother and she was a retired seamstress. She taught me how to sew and she bought me this sewing machine. I found out that I was a good artist and I started sketching different dresses. My grandmother bought me material and told me to make it. After several botched attempts, I succeeded. The more I did the better I got. It relaxes me to sew, and I love sketching the different ideas."

"Shane, show Louise your sketch book."

"Come on, Lindsay, did you notice what Louise was dressed in last Saturday? What I sketch is nothing."

"Shane, I would really like to see it."

Shane brought her sketch book out and handed it to Louise. Louise turned the pages with amazement. Yes, some of the designs were outlandish and sucked, but there were several very original gorgeous designs; they could be called cutting edge designs.

Shane handed the book back to Shane, "I am totally impressed. You draw some I would not be caught dead in, but several of them are gorgeous. Shane, could you do me a favor and loan me that dress you wore to the dance?"

"Sure Louise, but I think you're a little thin for it."

"That's okay. I just want to show it to someone."

"Well…sure," Shane replied almost hesitantly, wondering who Louise was going to show the dress to and _why_. "I hope whoever you show it to you likes it as much as you do. So different subject…what are you and Dean up to this weekend?"

"He's picking me up and taking me to Manhattan on Saturday night to see 'Hair Spray'."

"Well, you know you two could always get an early start on your date if you'd like to come spend the night with me this Friday and then you could invite _me_ over to your mansion some weekend. I've always wanted a chance to see how the other half lives," Shane laughed mischievously.

Louise thought about Shane's proposal for a few seconds. She liked the idea of hanging out with Shane and getting a chance to see more of Dean on Saturday. As for Shane coming to see her at the manse, she liked the idea of that, too. She was getting tired of just hanging out with the kids at Chilton and thought it'd be fun to have a chance to meet some new people for a change, especially ones who were down to earth like Shane and Lindsay.

"Thanks, Shane, I think I'll take you up on your offer, but only if you were serious about coming to visit _me_. How 'bout next weekend?"

"Next weekend is great. If we can trick Lindsay's mother, is it okay for her to come, too?"

"Definitely, she can come, too. Lindsay, I'm a pro when it comes to tricking parents, so if you two can't come up with something, I probably can think of a thing or two to outsmart her."

"Great," Lindsay said softly, smiling shyly, but confidently believing Louise's promise that she'd find a way for her to be able to come to her mansion.

Louise's cell phone went off, and she read the message. "Well, looks like Dean is getting off in thirty minutes. Lindsay, when I go do you want a ride home?"

"Okay, sure Louise."

**DEAN**

After Louise dropped Lindsay off at her house, she stopped by Dean's work and picked him up. "Well, boyfriend, what do you want to do?"

Let's go to Luke's and get a soda."

"I thought you did not like Luke's"

"I don't, but we're right next to it and it's usually quiet in there at this time of night."

Louise and Dean walked in and took a table by the window, and waited for service.

Lorelai, who was there talking to Luke, noticed the Chilton uniform and then recognized Louise. Lorelai paused in her conversation and noticed Louise and Dean were together. She fturned to Luke and commented, "Well, that is interesting."

"What is, Lorelai?"

"Louise sitting with Dean, I wonder when that started up? Maybe that is why Dean broke up with Rory, so he could go out with Louise."

"Lorelai, that girl was in here earlier, also she was here a couple of weeks ago, but she was not dressed in a school uniform, but that was after Dean had broken up with Rory."

"Well, Luke, Rory tells me that she is loose and not a very good student."

"Yeah, it figures Dean would dump Rory for some easy girl. I never did like that boy."

Jess walked over to them. "So what do you two want?"

"Look, Jess," Dean said softly, "we just want a couple of hot chocolates."

Louise turned to Dean, "Shane invited me over to spend Friday night at her house and I told her I'd come over. She thought I might like getting an early start with you on Saturday."

"I'd definitely like to get together earlier on Saturday, but how come you want to spend time with Shane**?**" Dean asked curiously.

Louise flashed him her mystifying smile and responded coyly, "If we are going to be going out, I think it would be a good idea to have a place to stay over in Stars Hollow when I want to come see you on the weekends. Plus, I really like hanging out with Shane and Lindsay anyway – so it's definitely a win-win."

Dean smiled, "I think that's a great idea for you have a place to stay over in Stars Hollow, too, and I like the idea of you making friends with Shane and Lindsay."

Jess arrived with the hot chocolates. He whined that they could have sat closer to the counter.

Louise stood up and said, "Jess…"

Jess turned around, mildly surprised that she wasn't going to let his rude comment slide.

"You know, if you spent less time moaning about what you are doing, and stop thinking you are the center of the universe, and lost that surly attitude, you'd find people would start to like you, and you may actually lose that 'woe is me, the world is against me crap.' The reason people don't like you is that you are a rude ass who thinks you should be bowed down to, because you think you're smarter than everyone. Trust me, you're not."

Jess was getting ready for one of his snotty comebacks, but had second thoughts with Dean sitting there. He just turned away and walked back behind the counter.

Luke looked at Lorelai, "You know what? What that girl Louise said was pretty accurate. Are you sure she is a dummy? I kind of like her, Lorelai. Too bad she is going out with that loser, Dean. That is the kind of girl _Jess_ needs to go out with."

"Luke , you know he's with Rory now."

"Yeah - I forgot," Luke sighed, almost sounding disappointed. "I'm sure Rory is a great girl for him, and will get him headed in the right direction," Luke commented half-heartedly, trying to convince himself and Lorelai of something he didn't even believe himself.

Louise and Dean finished their hot chocolates. Dean walked to the counter and wordlessly paid Luke. Once outside, Dean turned to Louise, "What time do you have to be home? It's getting late."

Louise walked into his arms. "Dean, I already called my parents and told them I was going to be late. Do you really think I drove all the way to Stars Hollow just to have a cup of chocolate with you?"

Louise looked up at Dean expectantly waiting for a kiss, which she received. If humans could purr, _she_ was purring.

Lorelai, Luke and Jess were looking through the diner window at them. Lorelai said, "Don't you think they need to come up for air?"

Luke shook his head and walked away.

Jess stared jealously. Rory had never kissed _him_ like that.

**LATER ON**

Louise was driving home. She was thinking about the very hot make session she had with Dean in the back of his 1998 Explorer. Louise was a very happy girl.

Dean was very happy that he'd be getting to see even more of Louise on Saturday. He'd take her to brunch and maybe they'd get a chance to walk around town and hang out in the gazebo before they left for the play. Of course, he was also thinking about what would happen after the show when he took her back to Hartford. He hoped the corporate guest house wasn't going to be booked that night so he and Louise could have some privacy in a place besides the back of his Ford Explorer.

Jess was thinking about what Louise had said to him. Maybe his 'him against the world' shtick _was_ wearing thin. He could never become a Dean, in fact he thought of Dean as an idiot. An idiot who attracted hot girls.

Paris had her plan finalized. She would see Brad in the morning and knew that, even his through his denseness, he could see that Rory was being shunned. Paris knew he would do it for two reasons. One, he never had been around a girl as hot as Rory. Two he was totally terrified of her and would obey any command that Paris ordered him to follow.

Lane was grounded and could not use the phone, but Rory told her that Dave wound up dancing with Lindsay Lister. Tall and blonde she was not. She felt like she lost him even before she had even really begun to date him.

Rory had an odd feeling. Something was going to happen. She did not know what, but something.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Enchanting Forester  
****CHAPTER SIX**

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Louise  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Louise, Paris, Rory, Dean, Brad, Jess, and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

**AND NOW FOR A LITTLE SHAKESPEARE…**

The next day Paris searched out Brad Langford to begin her plan of keeping Rory at Chilton and also confiscating Jess in the process of anonymously assisting her.

She was definitely not going to confront Brad in a place as obvious as the lunchroom. Instead, she'd wait until after school, when she knew he'd be coming out of the auditorium after his rehearsals with the "Chilton Thespian Players." She knew if others saw her talking to him that it would be the kiss of death socially since he'd been dubbed Chilton's resident nerd, despite his many successes on Broadway. She also knew it would arouse Louise and Madeline's curiosity if they saw her within fifty feet of him because they both knew how much she despised him.

At five-thirty, Paris made her move. Luckily, Brad was highly regarded by the school's acting coach, Stella Thompson, and that meant he was usually the last one to leave their rehearsals because Stella enjoyed hearing so much about Brad's experiences on Broadway.

Paris breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the others coming out ahead of Brad and saw him unsuspectingly strolling out of the auditorium fifteen minutes later by himself.

She moved from her hiding place behind a post in the breezeway and walked right up to Brad and looked him squarely in the eye and said, "All the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."

"Huh?" Brad asked, shaking in terror, not expecting to be confronted by Paris. "Uh…uh….is that from the Bible?"

"That's Shakespeare, you twit," Paris replied, piercing him with her frightening, midnight black colored eyes. "And not only is it Shakespeare, but that happens to be one of his most well known quotes from Act II of 'As you Like It.' And you call yourself a Broadway actor – just pathetic."

Brad gulped in fear and embarrassment. Of course he knew the quote she mentioned was Shakespeare now that he'd had a moment to digest what she'd said. He also knew that Paris put such trepidation into him, that his IQ probably dove at least fifty points whenever she met up with him face-to-face.

"Get in!" she barked out as she pointed to her father's limo.

"But, but…Paris…I have to go, my mother's making meatloaf and mashed potatoes tonight for dinner and she doesn't want it get cold, so I can't be late," Brad pleaded.

"Statistics indicate any and all households in North America had microwaves installed in them by the late twentieth century. If your mother hasn't figured out how to use hers yet, that would explain where you inherited your stupidity from. _**Get in**_ before I follow you home and taunt you with so many choruses of 'Into the Woods' that you'll collapse into a coma."

"Uh…uh…uh…sure, Paris," he replied nervously. He could tolerate many things from Paris, except for her mocking his performances on Broadway. He'd been so proud of his on stage solo of "Into the Woods," only to have Paris turn it into a big, fat joke among the other students when he'd returned from his summer performances and he didn't feel like reliving that dreaded memory.

"Keep driving until I tell you to stop, Herbert!" Paris screamed at her chauffeur.

Herbert stepped on the gas and started to drive around in circles. His secret nickname for Paris was "Miss Daisy" and unbeknownst to her, he was taking courses online to become a professional CPA. He couldn't wait until the day he'd be able to secure a professional position in the accounting field and call her Miss Daisy and some choice and juicy expletives to her face.

Brad was growing more afraid of Paris by the minute and practically all the blood had drained from his face, which was now ashen and covered in sweat.

"Brad, you need to become good friends with Rory Gilmore," Paris commanded.

"But, but – why? I don't think she'd want to be friends with me," Brad replied, sounding thoroughly confused by Paris' mandatory proposal.

"She _needs_ a friend at Chilton, now more than she ever did. I can't be her friend anymore and no one else can be her friend at Chilton who's halfway normal. You're the only one weird enough that can be her friend now and you have to befriend her immediately. Not next week, not next month, not maybe, but **tomorrow! **And in order to satisfy me that you're being friendly enough, you will make sure that Headmaster Chilton **sees** you being Rory's friend."

"Uh, well, okay, I think I could do that," Brad responded meekly. He wasn't sure why Rory needed a friend. As far as he knew, Rory had been adopted into the Paris, Louise and Madeline clique a while back, but being practically friendless at Chilton himself, he began to feel sorry for Rory and hoped he could not only help her, but that she could help him feel a little less friendless, too. "Well, sure, Paris. Rory seems like a sweet girl, I'll be her friend, now if you don't mind, I really need to get home," he said as he attempted to open the door of the limo to climb out and walk home the rest of the way.

"Not so fast, you little turtle-faced twerp. There are more conditions!" Paris said, injecting even more horror into Brad as she roughly grabbed his arm to prevent him from opening the door.

Brad didn't respond, he just stared wide-eyed with dreaded expectation at Paris. He'd been so close to making his get-away. It amazed him that being around Paris was exponentially more nerve wracking than appearing on Broadway in front of thousands of strangers.

"Just being friendsy-wendsy with Rory in the hallways at school isn't going to cut it. You need to take her out on a date and I'll need **proof** and if I don't get proof, you will be singing all your parts on Broadway in a soprano voice from now on**.**"

"But, but..I don't think I'm exactly Rory's type. I heard about that guy who took her to the Chilton dance. All the girls said he was a ten and a half and I don't think I even rate a two at Chilton."

"That's right, you **don't**, but that is why you are going to tell Rory that you'll be her friend at Chilton, but _**only**_if she agrees to go out on a date with you at a place and time of your choosing."

"Oh, boy!" Brad replied brightly, finally showing a glimmer of happiness. "I get to pick the place? Let's see, I could take her to the Village in Manhattan to a little restaurant called the –"

"No! You idiot! You are not choosing the place. You are only going to tell her that you're choosing the place or time –** I'll** be the doing all the choosing. You will meet her at the gazebo in the town square of Stars Hollow and take her to a restaurant called Luke's Diner, this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. She will not like it when you explain that's where the two of you will be going, but she'll have no choice. **Also – and this is VERY important, you will NOT tell her that we had this conversation. **Do you understand your mission or do you want me to write out the instructions in crayon so you don't forget?"

"No..no…I-I understand. May I please go now?" Brad asked fearfully, waiting for permission from Paris.

"Yes, you may go now," Paris sighed impatiently. "And don't forget…if you screw any of this up, you are going to wish you were dead. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes! Yes! Clear as Swarovski crystal," Brad replied as he gratefully grabbed the door handle and finally felt the breath of the outside world kiss his face.

"Don't bother trying to say witty things to me, Bradley Langford. My brain could spin circles around you in my sleep and I will never find anything you say the slightest bit clever."

Brad slinked out of the limo, not having the remotest notion of why Paris was trying to palm him off on Rory. The closest scenario he could conceive of was that she was trying to cook up something akin to a nerd party, where girls held contests to see who could bring the dorkiest guy to a party. He knew something dreadful would happen if he didn't follow Paris' instructions to the letter, but he also suspected something very dreadful was going to happen if he did.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY…**

Brad tossed and turned all night thinking about how he was going to approach Rory at school. Despite Paris telling him that Rory needed a friend at Chilton, he still did not think Rory would want to have anything to do with him. She had never been mean to him the way Paris, Louise or Madeline had been, but she'd never exactly gone out of her way to be friendly to him either and seemed to regard him as being as much of a eunuch as all the other girls at Chilton did. _How on earth will I ever get her to go out on a date with me? _he wondered dubiously.

_First things, first,_ he told himself, he must at least strike up a conversation with her in front of Headmaster Charleston and only when Paris was around to see the conversation take place. That, in itself, would be a challenge to get the timing to come together. The only place he could think of where he could pull it off would be the lunchroom.

As Brad went from class to class, his eyes were constantly fixed on the wall clock of each classroom. Eight thirty, ten thirty, eleven forty five…fifteen minutes later he strolled into the lunchroom, got a small tossed salad and a bottle of spring water and stood near the entrance of the lunchroom, waiting for Rory. His plan was to wait until she got seated at a table and then join her to propose the friendship and a Saturday night date.

Five minutes later, Rory strolled into the lunchroom, looking glum and hopeless. Brad noticed that what Paris said was true. Nobody, but nobody, was talking to her as she walked up to the food line and got a ham sandwich and a Coke and shuffled dejectedly to an empty table in the corner. It was so bad, he almost felt like he was looking in a mirror at himself.

_Piece of cake, _Brad thought confidently, hoping he really did have a chance to snag a date with Rory because he thought she was probably the most beautiful girl at Chilton.

"Hi Rory," Brad said as he smiled and took the liberty of sitting at her table without being invited.

"Oh, hi, Brad," Rory said sweetly back to him, grateful that someone had finally broken the code of silence. Maybe she wouldn't have to leave Chilton, after all.

"So, uh…your ham sandwich looks good. Way better than my salad, anyway," Brad commented dorkily, almost freezing up as the awkward words slipped out of his mouth unexpectedly.

"Mmm...yeah, it usually is, I don't really like what they serve here, but you usually can't go wrong with the ham sandwich," Rory replied, oblivious to noticing that Brad felt like an idiot for making a ham sandwich their first topic of conversation.

"Say listen, Rory, I was wondering…would you like to go out with me tomorrow night? I understand you live in Stars Hollow and I've heard it's just a neat little village and I'd love to be able to come there and see you and maybe you could show me around. I could take us out to eat, it'll be my treat."

Rory looked at Brad and thought, _Poor, sad pathetic Brad_, and replied, "Oh, no, Brad, that's sweet…that's really sweet of you to ask, but I have a boyfriend and I'm sure he'll want to take me out tomorrow night, but thanks anyway," she replied and started leafing through the latest novel she'd been reading on her lunch breaks.

"Well, okay, Rory, maybe we'll talk again some other time. Good luck," Brad added to make her nervous, somehow sensing that if Rory didn't make at least one friend at Chilton she was headed for trouble; otherwise, why would Paris have made such a big deal out of her being friendless?

Brad's wishing her good luck finally jolted Rory back to her senses. Having Brad offer to be her friend was like having a life preserver being tossed to her in the middle of a turbulent sea. Actually, maybe it wouldn't be so bad going out with Brad. He seemed like the harmless, innocent type that wouldn't know how to put the moves on her even if he wanted to. Rory figured all she had to do was to get him to take her to some other venue besides Stars Hollow and that way Jess wouldn't find out about the date and if she could get Headmaster Charleston to start thinking she had a friend at Chilton, then her troubles would be over.

"Wait, Brad, now that I think of it…my boyfriend's out of town this weekend. We can go out, but wouldn't you rather do something in Hartford where you live? My grandmother lives in Hartford, I can spend the night here and you can come pick me up at her house and that'll make it easier for you to…"

"Uh…no…Rory, I was actually counting on taking in the sights of Stars Hollow. If you're too embarrassed to have the people in your town see me come and pick you up and take you out where you live, then I guess we really shouldn't be going out in the first place or even be talking to each other," Brad responded, cleverly laying a guilt trip on her. He knew he had Rory right where he wanted her when she'd made up the lie about her boyfriend being out of town for the weekend.

"Okay, we can go out in Stars Hollow," Rory answered reluctantly, knowing she didn't have much choice.

"Well, great, I will meet you at the town gazebo at 6:30 tomorrow and we'll go grab a bite to eat."

"Great," Rory responded, trying to muster a scintilla of phony enthusiasm.

Unbeknownst to Rory, Headmaster Charleston had already witnessed the exchange between Rory and Brad and while it hadn't been much of an exchange, it'd been enough to satisfy the requirement he'd put forth to Rory to be seen speaking to another student at Chilton. He'd started to approach her to tell her as much, but he was detained by another faculty member and decided to put off the conversation with her until Monday.

And unbeknownst to Headmaster Charleston, Paris had revealed some information to the faculty member he was speaking to in order to keep him distracted from Rory long enough for her plan to have Jess discover Rory out on a date with Brad to work out.

She had stood in the background of the lunchroom and watched to make sure that Headmaster Charleston witnessed Brad at Rory's table, then she'd approached the fencing instructor to inform him that the Headmaster was getting rid of the fencing program. She'd actually overheard Headmaster Charleston telling his secretary about it on the same day she'd overhead Rory and the Headmaster talking the strong possibility of her being expelled from Chilton.

She realized if she conveyed this info to the fencing instructor, that he would become engaged in such a heated discussion with Charleston, that there was no way he'd have a chance to speak to Rory for the rest of the day and that he'd have to put off the discussion until Monday.

* * *

**FRIDAY NIGHT…**

Louise drove over to Stars Hollow on Friday directly from Chilton. She'd already asked her butler, Nelson, to pack her clothes for her sleepover with Shane and her date with Dean on Saturday and put them in her car before she'd left for school that morning.

Dean had actually told her that he'd come pick her up at ten o'clock on Saturday morning and take her to brunch and then they'd go back to his house about two thirty and hang out for a little while and then get ready there for their trip into the city to see _Hair Spray_ on Broadway.

Louise got excited as she drove up to the edge of town and saw the sign that read "Welcome to Stars Hollow," she just knew this was going to be a really fun filled weekend between her sleepover with Shane and Lindsay on Friday and all the quality time she'd be spending with Dean on Saturday. She absolutely could not wait.

Before she drove to Lindsay's house, she stopped by Doose's market to surprise Dean with a little visit.

When she walked into the store, she almost had to do a double-take, she saw Dean talking to Lindsay and it looked like for a brief second Lindsay might have been flirting with Dean. Seconds later, she saw Ray Hadley walk up to Lindsay and Dean and then Lindsay and Ray walked away, getting away too quickly for Louise to say hello or to tell Lindsay that she'd see her later on at Shane's house. _Whew! _Louise thought, _I have REALLY got to get a grip on my jealously._

"Hey, stud muffin, could you double-bag me, please?" Louise said, projecting her question with a dirty connotation in Dean's direction to see how he'd respond.

Dean heard the question and thought it was one of the Stars Hollow High bimbos coming into the store to flirt with him – something that happened a lot. _Which one of those sluts is here trying to bother me now?_ He swung around to look and his eyes fell instantly on Louise.

Louise erupted into laughter the second his eyes locked with hers.

"Oooh, now what kind of suggestion is that? I don't know if I'd even want to use a single bag with you," Dean said softly, continuing the sexy innuendos as he drew her in for a kiss. Not since he'd been with his girlfriend, Tamara, in Chicago had he felt so aroused by a woman. "You totally had me going just now."

"Well, you _always_ have me going," Louise replied huskily.

Luke, who was standing over in the next aisle buying cans of cream corn for the diner, heard the double entendres going back and forth between Louise and Dean and so wished Lorelai was with him so she could use her classic "Dirty!" line on them.

"You think you can get out of going to Shane's tonight?" Dean asked. "I can get us a room at a hotel just outside of town."

"Mmm…that sounds wonderful, P.B.", she replied, shortening his Paul Bunyan nickname, "but I'd feel bad giving Shane less than an hour's notice that I was cancelling out on her."

"Uh, sure, okay, I understand," Dean responded, snapping back into his usual gentleman's mode.

Miss Patty was at the other end of the aisle Luke was standing in and heard them talking too and had been fantasizing about being in Louise's place. She knew if Dean had asked her to go a motel just outside of town, she'd have told Shane to take a hike. _Foolish girl,_ Miss Patty couldn't help thinking about Louise for letting a "golden opportunity" like that get away from her.

"Thanks, and hey, we will be together tomorrow and we can definitely get some alone time back at the manse. No one's using the corporate guest house this weekend," Louise informed Dean, winking her right eye and smiling at him seductively.

"Alone time is excellent," Dean responded as he kissed her one more time before she left.

"Bye, P.B."

"Bye, Thumbie. I'll come by and pick you up at ten sharp at Shane's house tomorrow."

After her sexy interlude with Dean, Louise jumped in her car and drove over to Weston's to buy some goodies to take to Shane's house. She hated coming to a person's house empty-handed. She'd always been told by her parents that it was bad manners to show up at someone's house without bringing something to the hostess.

As she entered Weston's Bakery, the little bell tinkled over the door and Rory and Jess were standing at the counter and turned immediately to see who'd entered the bakery.

"Oh, it's you," Jess said sarcastically, "idiot boy's latest girlfriend."

"Well you should know all about idiot boys and their girlfriends since the person you're with looks like she has a pattern of dating them," Louise responded dryly.

"Ooooh, was that supposed to be _clever_? You could have fooled me," Jess responded, using his pretend snarky voice. This babe was hot and it was killing him that Dean had him. If the elements of the universe had lined up properly, _he_ would have had Louise and Dean would still be stuck with Rory.

"I'm already fooling you, and believe me, it isn't very hard to do, I've already told you, you're not nearly as smart as you think you are."

"How dare you talk to my boyfriend like that, Louise! It's bad enough you stole Dean..you.."

"_Stole_ Dean?" both Louise and Jess asked in unison.

"Oh, you two know what I mean…"

"No, we don't know what you mean," Jess replied solemnly, it'd suddenly become clear to him that Rory wasn't over Dean and she was still in her "_I'd_ _like to have my cake and eat it, too_," mode that she'd been in while she was seeing Dean and sneaking around with him. "Come outside with me," Jess instructed, "I want to talk with you about this privately," he said as grabbed her wrist forcefully and led her out of the bakery.

Louise proceeded to the counter, not really caring what was going on with Rory and Jess now, she wanted to focus on getting some goodies for Shane, Lindsay and her to munch on at Shane's house. She picked out a half dozen snicker doodles, a half dozen peanut butter cookies and a half pound of chocolate covered pretzels. She knew it was a lot of sweets, but she figured Shane could share the leftovers with her folks after everyone left.

After she waited for the counter girl to package up the cookies and the pretzels, she ordered a small cup of coffee and then paid for everything and left. As she walked outside the bakery to her car, she noticed Rory and Jess were gone, which suited her just fine. _Those two really deserve each other, _she couldn't help thinking as she climbed into her Mustang. _And I REALLY deserve Dean, _she laughed to herself.

She arrived at Shane's house ten minutes later and walked up the brick covered path to the front door and rang the bell.

Shane's mother, Alice, greeted Louise. She was wearing an apron and explained that she making fried chicken for dinner. Shane's mother was originally from South Carolina and loved cooking Southern food for company whenever she had a chance.

Moments later, Shane came bounding down the stairs to greet Louise.

"Hey, Louise, what'd you bring me?" Shane joked as she spotted the boxes from the bakery.

"Cookies and pretzels for later, in case we get hungry," Louise replied.

"Great! We can have some after we style each other's hair and do each other's makeup and play a round of truth or dare," Shane teased, making fun of the traditional activities teen girls engaged in when they had sleepovers and slumber parties at each other's houses.

"Or we could have some now," Louise suggested.

"Now don't you girls dare do that," Alice interrupted. "I worked very hard on tonight's meal and I don't want you spoiling your appetite with cookies. Speaking of which, where is Lindsay? I thought you said she was coming for dinner, too, Shane."

"She should be here in a little while, Mom," Shane responded.

"I actually saw her at Doose's earlier with her cousin, Ray, but they didn't see me and they left the store too quick for me to catch up with them."

"Did you say she was with Ray?"

"Yes."

"Mmm…" Shane mused, "that means her parents probably have him keeping an eye on her tonight for some reason. I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't able to make it," Shane commented disappointedly.

"Well, I've a good mind to call her mother right now. That is just downright rude not to allow her daughter to come over here after all the cooking I've done for dinner tonight," Alice commented with an annoyed tone of voice.

"Come on, Mom, don't embarrass me like that," Shane protested.

"Actually, I think that is a great suggestion," Louise agreed. "Nothing gets parents to change their minds quicker than letting them know they're being rude."

"But, Louise, I don't think my mother should…"

"Trust me, Shane; you have nothing to worry about. Your mother's a very sharp lady. She'll know what to say and this way we can get Lindsay over here to hang out with us."

Shane finally relented and agreed to let Alice call Lindsay's mother.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Enchanting Forester  
****CHAPTER SEVEN**

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Louise  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Louise, Paris, Rory, Dean, Madeline, and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

Allison Ryan walked into the study and picked up the phone to call Theresa Lister. The two woman knew each other and Allison was not oblivious to the fact that Theresa was vicariously trying to live her life through Lindsay. Allison also knew that Theresa was not fond of her daughter Shane.

Shane was a good kid, but she was not afraid to speak her mind which led several adults to brand her a trouble maker. This would be a tricky phone call, so Allison decided to play a little game.

The phone rang twice and Theresa picked it up. "Hello"

"Hi Theresa, this is Allison Ryan calling. Could you please tell Lindsay that she need not bring anything for the sleepover, and if needed I can pick her up."

"Allison, I was not really planning on letting Lindsay go."

"Oh I was not aware of that. That is a shame. I know the girls new friend drove all the way here from Hartford so the three of them could spend the night together. It would really be a shame to disappoint her."

"I do not really know that girl, and I do not want Lindsay in a unsupervised situation."

Allison thought to herself. Here the girls are going to graduate high school this year and Theresa Lister is treating her daughter like a ten year old. She wondered if Theresa knew that over protection was the fastest way to lose her daughter. Theresa I plan on being home all night, and they will not be unsupervised." _There goes the drinks with her sister she thought" _

"Well alright, if your going to be there I don't see any harm."

"Good I will be over shortly to pick her up"

Allison walked out of the study to the kitchen where Shane and Louise were looking at one of Shane's sketch books. "You two owe me big time. Not only do I have to go get her, I am going to have to cancel my plans on going out with your aunt Sarah."

Shane looked at her mother with horror, "You're going to be here the whole time?"

"Yes, don't worry I was a teen once. As long as you don't sneak boys in or try to burn down the house it should be okay, now if the three of you want to go to a movie it should not be a problem."

Allison arrived at the Lister house and walked up the walk to the porch. She rang the bell and waited for someone to answer. Theresa opened the door. Lindsay was standing behind her. "Hi Theresa" Theresa stepped aside to let Lindsay leave. "Allison you are sure they are going to be supervised.?"

"Yes, I will let them go out out till ten and they must let me know where they are. After ten they will be in the house with me.?

"Alright, that sounds fair enough/ Lindsay you behave yourself and do as says."

Allison was cringing inside. Lindsay was being treated like a twelve year old girl. What a shame. The two of them walked to the car. Lindsay got in, and she still had not said a word. Allison looked over at Lindsay. She could she the girl was on the verge of tears. "What is the matter dear?"

"She treats me like I am ten years old."

"She just worries about you dear."

"Yeah right" Lindsay muttered.

Allison arrived at her house and Lindsay jumped out of the car and ran to the front door where she was greeted by her two friends.

"Alright girls this is how it is going to work. You can go out, but just let me know where you are, and be back here at ten PM" or earlier if you want to have your dinner warm.

Both Shane and Louise were used to way looser restrictions. In fact Louise really did not have any restrictions on her. Both girls agreed. "Lets go to my room."

"Lead the way Shane, Oh Lindsay I have the notes and the report on the Fall of the Roman Empire for you."

Lindsay took the report and carried it on into Shane's room. While Shane and Louise were talking she looked at the notes. Lindsay was quite impressed. The work was neat organized and very well written. She was shocked when she saw the B minus on the paper. Something like that in her high school would have been A plus. "Louise what do you have to do to get an A in Chilton?"

"Not have a life Louise quipped, and I am to young for that."

Shane opened up a cooler she had placed in her room earlier and passed out sodas. "Okay ladies, lets figure out what we are going to do."

MEETING AT THE TOWN SQUARE

Rory was nervous. She thought about explaining to Jess the situation she was in, but she knew with his ego and insecurities he would never understand. Hopefully after Jess got over his anger he would understand the situation she was in.

Rory wished she did not let her mouth get the best of her. Why did she snap at Louise? Was it that she was jealous of her for dating Dean. Rory also decided that she needed to find Louise and apologize to her and ask to be forgiven.

Right now she had to meet Brad. Rory wondered what Brad was really like. She knew the boy was totally cowered by Paris.

Rory made up her mind as she was walking to the gazebo in the middle of the town square. If Jess has a problem so be it. She was beginning to realize that Jess had a problem with everything. Rory was pretty sure she was going to get busted. When she arrived at the gazebo Rory sat down and awaited Brad.

Brad drove up and parked his car. He had never been to Stars Hollow before. The town looked very quaint. He could see the large common area and the gazebo. Now if all went according to plan, Rory would be waiting for him.

Unsure of himself he walked up the path to the gazebo. He had bought Rory a little bouquet of flowers. As he approached the gazebo he saw Rory sitting there slumped over. She did not look like a happy girl expecting her date. Rory must have heard him coming. She stood and turned to face him. A wan smile crossed her features. Brad walked up to her and handed her the bouquet of flowers.

"Brad that was sweet of you to bring the flowers, but what am I going to do with them?"

Brad stood there puzzled. Then he realized that she would be carrying the bouquet all night. "You can leave them in my car. Lets drop them off and could you show me around town and then we can get something to eat."

Rory glumly agreed. "Okay Brad that sounds like a good idea."

What they did not realize was there was two pairs of eyes watching them.

One set belonged to Jess Mariano. He was wondering why Rory walked out to the gazebo and just sat there. He was sitting in his wreck of a car. Then he saw some guy walk up to her with a bouquet of flowers and handed them to her. He wondered what her explanation would be. He did not think that she would do this to him. Jess was convinced that Rory was totally in love with him, but some of her actions belayed that thought.

The other set of eyes belonged to Paris Gellar. So far so good she thought to herself. It appeared that they were going to walk around town before going to Luke's to get something to eat. That was not exactly how she scripted her plan for that idiot Brad. How in the world did he get to act on Broadway. She heard that he had a wonderful singing voice, but he was an idiot.

Jess followed the progress of Rory and the strange guy, He wondered where she had met him. Why was she so open and bold with him. Jess started to feel like he was being disrespected, and he was going to be dammed if any girl was going to disrespect him in front of the whole town. He glanced over and saw three girls walking toward him. It was Shane, Lindsay and the Louise girl, Deans latest squeeze. He would love to get his hands on her. Maybe if he had to break up with Rory; he could snatch her away from Dean. Hell he did it once and the guy was a moron.

Paris spotted three girls walking along the storefronts. She noticed all three were blondes and the one in the middle was Louise.. Now what in the world was she doing here with Lindsay and Shane. Louise was not with Dean, so why would she be in Stars Hollow with those two?

Rory decided to make the best out of her situation. She strolled along with Brad pointing out the various places of interest. Brad seemed nervous and stiff, but he cold not be any more nervous then she was at the moment. She knew that Jess was going to find out, and hoped that he would understand, but she knew deep down he wouldn't. Rory knew she made a decision as to what was more important to her. Her boyfriend or school. She choose school. Rory wondered about Dean. She knew he would have understood the situation, but he was long gone. Rory turned to Brad "Brad do you like antiques?"

"Yes as a matter of fact I do."

Rory thought to herself that is a strange hobby for a eighteen year old boy. "Well I know this fabulous shop. It has just about every thing under the sun."

"I'd like to see it."

"Follow me" and they were off to Mrs Kim's shop

"Hey look at that" and Shane pointed down the street. "There is Rory and some guy walking."

The male figure looked familiar to Louise. It was somebody from her world. Not Stars Hollow. "I think I may know him. I need to get a better look."

Paris was muttering to herself._ I don't have all day. Get your asses into Luke's for your meal._ She was going to wreck Brad's life for not following her plan. She had every intention of being there when Jess blew up. She wondered if Jess would punch out Brad. _Oh that would be so hot she thought._

Lindsay was having a great time hanging out with Shane and Louise. For the first time she felt like a normal teenage girl. They spoke of boys, school,life in general and boys. Lindsay noticed one thing. Louise was a lot of fun, but when Dean was spoken about, you could see the possessiveness in her eyes. She really hoped Louise would get over it. Lindsay noticed that Rory and Brad had entered Kim's antiques.

"Lindsay put her arm out. "Hold on they went into Mrs. Kim's antique shop" Lindsay then turned to the other two girls. "Why are we following them."

"Shane laughed. "Because it seems like Rory is on a date, and it is not Jess. So if I know my Jess as well as I think I do. There will be some fireworks soon. Actually I am really enjoying this. Jess being cheated on."

Lane was startled when Rory walked in with Brad. She did not have a clue as to who he was. Why was she here with him?

"Lane this is Brad. He goes to Chilton with me. Brad told me he had a fondness for antiques." Rory louder than usual said "So I brought him to the best antique shop in Connecticut." Hoping Mrs. Kim would hear her.

Brad shook Lanes hand. His eyes started scanning the shop. It was impossibly cluttered, but his eye saw many fantastic pieces. Especially in furniture. Brad was used to going antique hunting with his parents. Probably one of the reasons he felt ill at ease with his peers. They were playing, hanging out with their friends and he was hanging out in old musty barns. He stepped forward and lovingly ran his hand over an old chair that was perched on top of a desk. Brad turned to Rory. "This is a beautiful example of an art deco side chair. He then pointed to another chair. "This one is Mahogany notice the Chippendale claw feet."

Lane and Rory stood there with their mouth's hanging open. Rory turned to Lane. "If he was Korean, he would be your husband.

Mrs Kim suddenly appeared and yelled "look, Don't touch."

The three teens quickly put their hands to the side of their legs. "No. no not you." she pointed to Brad. "You know what you are touching. It is fine for you to do so. Where did you learn so much about antiques?"

Lane introduced Brad to her mother. Mrs. Kim looked him up and down. "Brad if this one does not treat you right" She pointed to Rory. "You come back and date Lane. You would make a good son in law. You know the business."

Timid Brad turned white. He had a feeling if Mrs Kim found him alone she would bring him back and force him to marry her daughter. Who was cute but. He stepped closer to Rory and clutched her arm. " I I, I appreciate the offer Mrs. Kim, but Rory and I are doing fine."

"Do you love Rory?"

"No, I don't think so." Brad stuttered.

"Good then it is settled. You will be back here Sunday morning 9Am to take Lane to church.. With that said Mrs. Kim turned and disappeared among the cluttered furniture.

"Rory can we please go. I think she may kidnap me and chain me up."

"Oh God Rory don't bring him back. I'll never get to see Dave. Call my mother later and tell her he was killed in some sort of accident. Make it gruesome. That way she will not want to view the body."

"Please let's go Rory."

"See you later Lane." Rory and Brad strolled arm in arm out the door .

Jess was watching._ Man she is brazen, he thought to himself. I am going to have to say some thing soon._

Paris was watching. _Good boy Brad. Maybe I won't kill you after all_

The three girls were watching. .Louise turned to Shane and Lindsay. "I know him. He goes to my school. His name is Brad."

"Any idea why he is with her Louise?"

Louise hesitated. "I think I know why. Rory was very nasty to me at the dance last week, and I sort of put out the word to ostracize her. Chilton is a snobby school, and no one would have anything to do with her. I went out of my way to be nice to her, and to have her be accepted. Then she dissed me at the dance. Called me basically a boy crazy air head."

Lindsay interjected. "I have been watching her for several years. I don't think she is a bad person. It is just that everyone has her on this pedestal around here, and she does not realize that other people have feelings."

"You know guys, as much as I enjoy watching this drama unfold. My mother has a great dinner waiting for us, and I have a sneaking suspicion that someone wants at least fifteen minutes alone with some one else.

Louise blushed, "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes" Shane and Lindsay said in unison.

"So I suggest we wander toward Dooce's market and see what is up."

"Sounds good to me Shane." Louise turned to Lindsay. "You doing alright?"

"I am having fun. Don't worry about me."

"Rory I am hungry. Let's go to Luke's and get something to eat."

Rory was wishing this day would end. She was quite surprised at Brad's knowledge of antiques, and quite disappointed in his timidity. Maybe she could get him to go home after they had something to eat.

Paris spotted Jess. He looked agitated. She realized that he was spying on the couple also. She also saw that they were headed for Luke's Then she saw the Louise and her two friends headed for the same place. What were the three of them doing? She knew that Louise liked Dean. And was curious why she was spending time with the two girls instead of Dean?

Lindsay, Shane and Louise arrived at Doose's market. "Alright Louise. Go say hi to lover boy" Lindsay and Shane laughed

"Be kind Shane" Louise said with a smile. "I have to go in there and talk to his hotness and try to keep my hands to myself."

Shane walked into Doose's market and wandered the aisles looking for Dean. Then she spotted him at the very back of the store next to the walk in cooler. Louise walked up to him. Startling Dean.

Dean recovered and grabbed her hand and led her into the walk in cooler. He put his arms around her and crushed his lips to hers.

Rory and Brad walked right past Shane and Lindsay with out a word and entered Luke's.

Brad and Rory took a seat at a table. Drawing a funny glare from Luke. He walked over to their table and asked. "Do you know what you want?" He noticed that the boy seemed to be scared stiff.

"No please give us a minute." Brad replied"

At that moment Jess had enough, and he stormed into his uncles diner. He was going to confront Rory about her two timing him.

Shane and Louise are standing out side of Doose's chatting waiting for Louise to complete what ever Louise was doing. "Come on Lindsay" Shane grabbed the taller girls wrist., and followed Jess into Luke's

Paris is sitting across the street. In her brown wig and sun glasses. _"Yes yes she shouted to know one in particular. _Some passer by's turned and gave her a odd look and hurried away from her.

Jess stopped in front of the table Brad and Rory were sitting in. He yelled at the top of his voice "EXPLAIN THIS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH HIM."

Rory stuttered, "Jess he is a friend from school spending the day with me."

"Friend my ass Rory. If he was a friend you would have called me and invited me to come along."

"No no Jess, I figured you would be bored."

"Kiss my ass bored, You were sneaking around behind my back"

From behind he heard laughter. Jess turned and saw Shane standing there

."Sneaking behind someones back? You ought to be an expert on it Jess. I think you did quite a bit of it yourself."

"Screw you Shane. Stay out of this."

"No screw you Jess. You and Rory did quite a bit of sneaking around while you were supposedly dating me. Why are you surprised that she is cheating behind your back. That is what you two do. Besides from what I heard you have the hots for Louise."

Rory put her head down on the table and started sobbing. Brad unexpectedly got up and stood in front of the table shielding her.

Luke came out of the kitchen. Yelling "What is going on out here. This is my place of business"

Jess took one look at Brad. "What are you doing" and shoved him across the table.

"Out out get out of here Jess.

Jess looked at his uncle. "Yeah I am out." Jess roughly shoved past Shane and Lindsay and walked out the door of the diner.

Paris noticed him storming out of the diner and ran across the street ditching her wig and sunglasses. She started yelling "Jess. Jess wait up." Paris ran as fast as she could and managed to get in front of Jess. "Jess Jess Please stop."

Jess stopped and looked at Paris. "Now what do you want Paris?"

"I want to talk to you Jess."

"Yeah okay, and what do you have to say. Make it quick."

"Just this Jess." Paris reached up and put her arms around Jess and molded her body into his. Then she kissed him.

Jess felt her tongue pierce his lips. Her tongue was gently circling his mouth. The sensation was erotic. He felt every curve of her body as she pressed against him. Rory had never kissed him like this, Shane had never kissed him like this. In fact no girl had ever kissed him like this.

They broke apart. "That is what I wanted to say Jess. What do you have to say?"

Jess was speechless. He just looked at Paris dazed.

"I thought that is what you were going to say" She took him by the hand and led Jess to her car. "Come on we are going to go to Hartford."

Jess managed to squeak out "Cool"

Louise's toes were numb. Her and Dean broke their embrace. They were both breathing heavy. In fact most people would say panting. "Dean I will see you in the morning"

"Oh yes you will" Then he hit the safety bar and the freezer door swung open. They kissed briefly again and Louise started walking down the aisle to the door. She realized that the only conversation they had was _I will see you in the morning and Oh yes you will._

Dean watched her walk down the aisle. His eyes were totally glued onto her backside, which he considered the finest he had ever seen. He wondered to himself if she did that little swing on purpose or was it the natural way she walked

Louise reached the door and stepped out into the street. She knew exactly what Dean was staring at. Some times those exotic dance lessons came in handy at the strangest places. Lindsay and Shane were no where to be seen. She glanced over at Luke's diner and figured they may have went in to wait.

Louise walked in and saw Shane and Lindsay perched on a couple of stools. A broken table with Brad sitting in a chair with Luke and Rory fussing over him. "What happened?"

"Let me tell her Lindsay said. Rory came in here with her date and Jess did not like it and started yelling at her and Brad stood up and Jess pushed him over the table. Holy crap your freezing where were you?"

"Oh man I miss everything."

"Come on Louise why are you so cold?"

"Lindsay, if you must know Dean and I stepped into the stand up cooler for a few minutes."

Shane looked at Louise. "How much meat did you thaw out?"

Louise blushed. "I have no idea."

"What are you two talking about? Lindsay asked.

THE SLUMBER PARTY

The girls arrived back at Shane's house at 830Pm. Allison looked up when they arrived. "Just in time I was just about to throw the fried chicken out."

Allison served Fried chicken with potato salad and coleslaw. Louise bit into the thigh she had picked up and decided it was the best piece of fried chicken she had ever eaten. Mrs. Ryan where did you find a recipe for this?"

"There is no recipe for this. It is something passed down from mother to daughter, and each person does something a little bit different. Unless something changes real soon I think I may be the last person to make this in my family.

Lindsay glanced over at Shane. "You don't cook?"

Shane shrugged her shoulders. "I do and I don't"

Lindsay earnestly looked at Allison. "Mrs Ryan please teach me."

"Certainly my dear. Louise are you interested in learning?"

"Louise who sort of planned on not cooking very much in her life was touched by Mrs. Ryans's offer. She was one of the girls. Louise liked that. Back in Hartford she never knew if people liked her or liked her on account of her fathers wealth. "I'd love to Mrs Ryan. Please let me know when you want to show us how to make your brand of fried chicken. It is out of this world."

"No Louise, not out of this world. Just good southern cooking."

Dinner was done, the table cleared and dishes washed. "Okay girls, My sister is coming over and we are going to have a drink. You girls behave. No boys and no booze."

The girls retreated to Shane's room. They looked at each other. "Well" Shane said we are not the Barbie doll set, so I guess there will not be to much toenail painting and hair doing."

Shane laughed, "Your right Louise. What we need to do is find Lindsay a boyfriend."

Lindsay blushed. "Come on guys."

"Lindsay" Louise asked. Have you dated any of the guys from your high school. I saw several cute guys at the dance.."

"No, They don't ask me."

"You were voted best looking girl in the junior class last year and no one asked you out?"

Shane interrupted. "She has to talk to someone besides me and her cousin. I think all the guys think she is stuck up or something."

"Shane I am not stuck up."

"We know that. Your just shy."

"You know, Louise mused. "I wonder if I should fix Lindsay up with some one from my school? That way she gets off on a fresh start. I have a couple of guys in mind."

"That is a good idea. What do you think Lindsay?"

"I guess so Shane."

"So what is the deal with Rory? I missed that."

Well Louise while you were chillin, Jess caught Rory on a date as you know.

"Shane there is something funny about that. The guy Brad is from my school and I have never seen him and Rory ever interact, except for the debate team. I think I have an idea why she may have went out with him. I did not think she would throw her relationship with Jess away this soon.

"You know Louise." Lindsay added. "The guy Rory was with; did stand up and try to shield her from Jess's tirade. I thought that was sweet of him."

"That was sweet of him. He acts on Broadway and is actually only a part time student at Chilton. Paris, a girl at my school, bullies him unmercifully."

"Why does she do that?"

"I don't know Lindsay. Paris in spite of her brilliance is not a very secure person."

"So Louise, what are you and Dean going to do tomorrow?"

"Shane, this is the plan. He is going to pick me up here after breakfast and we are going to spend the day together. Then we're going to drive to New London and take the train into the city and see a Broadway show. Probably have dinner also, Back to New London. And Dean will drive me home to Hartford."

"Lindsay was lost in thought and snapped back to reality. That sounds like such a romantic date. I'd like to have a date like that."

"Well lets see what we can do Lindsay. Hey you two are coming over my house next weekend right?"

Shane laughed. "your going to spend a weekend with out Dean? Yeah right."

Oh, I'll see him Shane. When I drive here to pick you two up and when I drive back to take you guys home. I see lots of good Dean time.. Hey Shane how tight are you with the guy you were with at the dance?"

"I don't know. He's a good guy. I haven't made up my mind yet. I am supposed to hang out with him tomorrow night.

Shane glanced over at Lindsay. Don't worry I'll figure out some way to spring you."

Lindsay smiled "Thanks."

"Louise, what did you do with the dress I lent you?"

"Nothing yet. I want to show it to some people. I haven't had the chance yet."

"Why do you want to show it?"

"Just to get an opinion on something I suspect."

"And what is that?"

Louise smiled. "Patience Shane, It is for a good cause."

NIGHTS END

Brad was safely home. He had a few bruises. He oddly enjoyed himself, except for the scary Korean woman trying to kidnap him, and the crazy boyfriend. It was all worth it Rory had kissed him on the cheek.

Rory was lying in bed. She could not sleep. It seemed to her that her life was going down hill ever since Dean called her on cheating on him and broke up with her. She knew that she made the right choice. Jess was probably gone as a boy friend, but in the longer scheme of things school was more important at this time of her life. Being with out a boy friend for the first time in over two years was going to suck.

Jess was wondered why he consented to go to Hartford. The few times he had met Paris, he really liked her. Jess had a feeling that he was not welcome at his uncles place for awhile. So this at least gave him a roof over his head. He had to admit that he was impressed when they walked in and Paris instructed a maid to show him to a room. He was watching a movie on the flat screen TV with the Bose sound system when Paris walked in. Her hair was down and she was bare foot. She was also wearing very sensible pajamas, nothing sexy about them, but she had ethereal aura about her. She sat on the bed an took his had. "Jess, you get me in away no one does. I also understand you like no one else does."

"Paris, thanks for putting me up, but how do you understand me? What am I about?"

"Well Jess you are a brilliant writer with a shit education. You have innovative original thoughts, you don't know how to express. You have an inferiority complex you try to hide with your wisecracking mouth."

Stung. Jess replied "Yeah your so cool and great you can't even get a date and...

"Jess. Don't try that with me. My thought process is about twice as fast as yours." Paris leaned down and kissed him on the lips "I'll see you in the morning."

After Paris walked out the door Jess turned off the light and laid there thinking. _Hell she summed me up in three sentences, and was totally right._.

Paris laid in bed. thinking She knew she had to bring him back he could not just move in, even though she was almost certain her absent parents would not even notice, but she could give him a place where he could come once in awhile and be himself.

Thinking of Jess gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Louise laughed to herself. Shane and Lindsay were sharing Shane's queen sized bed and she was curled up in a sleeping bag on a air mattress on the floor. A far come down from her room, but she was happy. Louise had a great boyfriend. Shane and Lindsay were straight forward honest girls. Unlike most of the girls she was accustomed to. She liked hanging with them. Now next week she was going to invite Madeline to the sleepover also, and maybe Paris. Madeline would be a little jealous of her new frineds, but she was a cool girl and would soon get over it. Paris? Wel she is Paris who knows with her.

Tomorrow was going to be a great day Louise thought.. All day with her boyfriend. She hoped he would like the outfit she brought for the trip into the city

**To Be Continued...**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Louise  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Louise, Jess, Rory, Dean, and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

* * *

**SATURDAY MORNING**

Rory was up early. Her life was a mess. As expected Jess reacted as she expected. She knew where Jess was coming from. What he saw was the same thing they did to Dean; Rory sneaking around behind his back, but now it was being done to him. Rory walked out to the kitchen and made some coffee. Life was not going as she planned. Except for Lane she did not have any friends and she could not find Jess anywhere, so she sort of knew she did not have a boyfriend any longer.

She had the strongest urge to talk to Dean. Rory was not sure what she wanted to say to him, maybe she knew even after all she did to him; he would have some pity for her. She sighed and went back to her room to shower and dress for the day.

Lindsay woke up first. Louise was curled up like a cat on the air mattress, and Shane was wrapped up in all the blankets, probably why Lindsay woke first. She was freezing. She wandered out to the kitchen where Allison had just made a pot of coffee and was sorting through the fridge to see what she could make for breakfast.

"Good morning, Mrs. Ryan."

Allison turned surprised at the unexpected voice behind her. "Oh, good morning, Lindsay. Coffee?"

Lindsay nodded in the affirmative and Allison pointed toward a cabinet. "The cups are in there."

Lindsay walked over to the cabinet got a cup and poured herself a coffee, adding a sugar and a splash of cream. Then she silently sat at the kitchen table.

Allison joined her. "Your still asleep."

"No I am good." Then put her hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn.

"So I see. What are the chances of you going to Doose's to get me a couple of things while I figure out a great southern breakfast, with of course, grits. You may take my car."

"Nah, It isn't that far. I'll walk, give me a minute" Lindsay stood up and went back to Shane's room to brush her teeth and put some clothes on. Actually she would have not minded driving, but if her mother saw her; all hell would break loose. When she turned eighteen in a few weeks she was out of there. Just as soon as she could find someplace to go. Lindsay wanted to finish school and she wanted to go to college, but being treated like a ten year old was wearing very thin.

Lindsay returned to the kitchen. Allison gave her a small list and some money. "Thank you, Lindsay, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Ryan. Glad I could help.

Rory walked to Luke's Diner. At the last minute she decided to see if Dean was working. She just felt a need to talk to him. To tell him that she was sorry and maybe they could be friends.

She walked in and walked toward the rear of the store where Dean was usually found. There he was rotating the bottles in the coolers. She walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Dean whirled around surprised. "Rory, what do you want?"

"Dean I just would like to talk to you for a few minutes."

"What about?"

"Us."

"There is no Us Rory. I have a girlfriend."

Rory looked down at the floor and just above a whisper. "I know."

Dean looked around "Where is Jess, does he know you're talking to me? You know he doesn't like that. It is amazing now that the shoe is on the other foot, how possessive he has gotten.

"I don't know where he is. I just wanted to tell you I am sorry."

"Okay, you're sorry. So what? I have Louise and you have Jess we should all be happy. You got what you wanted."

"Do you really like Louise a lot?"

"I would say so Rory, I am very happy with her."

"Dean, do you think we could be friends?"

"Why? What purpose does that serve?"

Tears started streaming down Rory's face and gurgled in between sobs. "I am so lonely, Dean, I don't mean to hurt people, but I do, no one likes me. I don't even think I have a boyfriend anymore.

Dean was at a loss. He never did do well with a crying girl. He shifted his weight back and forth. He started to say something. He did not know what, but something to stop her from Rory threw herself into his arms. He did not know what to do except put his arms around her.

Lindsay had found all the items Allison wanted. They were all neatly stacked in her little basket. She went around the back of the store to get a soda for the walk back to Shane's House. Standing only five feet away was Rory in Dean's arms her face buried in his neck.

Lindsay almost dropped the basket. She rapidly backed up and almost ran to the checkout counter. Taylor stopped her. "What are you running from a fire?"

No, no, I just need to pay and go, I have to go."

Lindsay paid for the purchases and ran out of the store and ran down the street till she got out of the town center. Lindsay did not know what to do. Should she tell Louise what she saw, or keep it to herself? She really liked Louise, and she knew how much Louise liked Dean. Boy was Dean an ass she thought to herself. He had a great girlfriend in Louise and he still wanted to fool around with his ex who dumped him. Lindsay knew that Louise was so looking forward to her big date with Dean tonight. Louise was a girl not that much different than her. Yes she had money and a cocky attitude, but Lindsay saw though that. She saw decent girl who was cocky, to hide her shyness, about to be dumped on.

Lindsay was thinking of ways to get Shane alone and tell her. Shane would know what to do in a situation like this, but how to get her alone without offending Louise, who would be wondering why they were off whispering in a corner. Lindsay wished she did not see what she saw. Right at that moment she hated Dean.

Lindsay stopped a block away from the Ryan house. The tall blonde needed to know what she was going to say. Should she say something and crush Louise, or keep her mouth shut, which would only temporarily stay the cruel fate to befall Louise. If she said nothing, would her face and or actions betray her? Would Louise sense that something was wrong? Her mind needed to be made up and right away.

Dean gently took Rory by the arms and pushed her away from him. "I am sorry, Rory, I feel sorry for you, but I cannot be hugging you. Please don't do it again."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


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